


Follow the Crazy Science

by CJRiley



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: F/F, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-11-29 08:57:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 42,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11437494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJRiley/pseuds/CJRiley
Summary: Cophine-centric alternative storyline to Orphan Black’s Final Trip. What if Delphine was permitted to stay behind with Cosima at Camp Revival?***Cosima could envision them five years down the line, after failing to reconcile their differences. They would be standing on a bustling train platform in a fortuitous encounter. Her esteem shattered, Delphine remains broken, unable to hold together a lasting relationship after losing her ideal love. Cosima would have one arm wrapped around a woman she knew she could trust, one she genuinely cared for but could never surrender her full heart to.Delphine would compel that same polite smile in acknowledgment of the crazy science they shared and fought for together. Cosima would smile back in silent recognition, before her new love pulls them towards their next destination. The two scientists would lock eyes for one final time, resigned to the fact they were on differing paths in life and needed to move on.





	1. Reunion

_Follow the crazy science! - Dr. Delphine Cormier_

 

Cosima Niehaus awakens with a jolt, finding herself lying in a yurt on an island she never knew existed before this week. _What just happened? Did I really see Delphine Cormier?_ The bespectacled scientist reaches across the bed, feeling the empty space beside her. No, it was only a dream…she couldn’t have been alive.

No, no it all felt so real, so vivid. Cosima had felt her, embraced her, tasted her lips – it was Delphine who held her that night, this much she was certain, even if her beloved's heart was no longer beating. She slowly removes her nasal cannula and attempts to stand up, discovering quickly how painfully difficult this simple task would now be.

The scientist peers through the window and spots a tall woman with blonde curls, facing away from her. The woman stands in the daylight, holding a steel container in one hand. It had to be the French doctor. She is facing an older man, arguing and shaking her head at him.

Cosima forces the door open and makes her way outside. “Delphine!”

Her subject turns around abruptly. “Cosima! Stop!” she cries out in a French accent. “You are too weak. Go back!” She motions her friend inside and turns back to the elderly man to end their conversation before running towards the yurt.

“What are you doing? You need rest,” Delphine orders, leading Cosima back to bed. The doctor pulls a blanket around the scientist and takes her temperature. “Do not leave the yurt. I am working on a cure for you. I only need the other half of the cell line. Give it time.”

“Delphine, stop!” Cosima snaps, unable to hold back the tears. “Will you just stop for one second? And just let me feel you again.” Delphine holds Cosima’s head in her hands, their foreheads touching, and then hugs her, pulling her into a kiss. “Is this really you? All of you? I’ve been thinking of you, every single day since you went missing. Every single day since we first met. I was told you were shot dead. Are you hurt? Where did they shoot you?”

“Yes, of course, you want answers.” Delphine raises her shirt, exposing the scar on her abdomen. “It’s not as bad as most bullet wounds. I recovered quickly.”

“You should’ve never gotten involved in all of this. This is my fight, Sarah’s fight! It doesn’t involve you.” The scientist cups her mouth with her hands, choking in tears. “I should have protected you, ran after you that night.”

“Cosima, listen to me," the doctor replies. "This is our fight. It involves me, because I see the injustice that has happened and I cannot stand by, not when I can play a part in this. Right now this is the situation I – we – find ourselves in, and we will have to make the best out of it.”

Cosima requests a full recounting of the day Delphine was shot.

“It is still hazy to me, what happened that night. I knew I would likely not live long, that I had made enemies, powerful ones. I discovered Dr. Nealon had transported Rachel out of the hospital and left Krystal in her place. And when I confronted him, he pinned me against a table and tried to force this maggot-bot into me. I panicked, and I shot him.”

“No.” Cosima covers her face in her hands.

“He told me I wouldn’t live until morning, so I quickly made my peace with it. I visited your lover’s apartment, to apologize and give her permission to ask you about everything. I told her I thought you two made a good match and I would no longer stand in her way. And then I went to say my goodbyes to you.

“After I was shot in the Dyad parking lot, all I recall is some men picked me up, and someone shouted, ‘Revive her! She’s important!’ perhaps through a radio. And the men kept calling out that they were losing me. I don’t believe they had any blood on hand for me, either.

“I don’t know how much time elapsed, but I was certain this would all come to an end and perhaps for the best. Whoever was trying to save me, I knew their motives could not be for good. I probably should have died that night, I had at most, minutes, at worst, seconds to live. I was slipping away when they injected me, here…” she reveals a vein on her right arm, still massively bruised.

“My God.”

“The Ambrosia serum, they called it. Required the strictest of clearances to utilize it, but they did, to save me. Because I had value to them. Every vein in my body burned when they injected me, like being consumed in fire. Imagine the hottest summer day you ever experienced, multiply that by a thousand. But then…slowly I felt life trickling back into my body, as though I was dying of thirst and was being hydrated by an overflowing well. I was propping back to life, but it didn’t feel…natural. It was through synthetic means. I could hardly even believe this was possible, that it was happening.

“It is because of Ambrosia that I am alive. The experiments they’ve been running, everything, it is crazy science exemplified, without any boundaries! And since then, they brought me to this island, where I work for them, day and night, concocting a serum powerful enough to conquer death itself.”

“Wait. Just wait," Cosima furrows her brow. "You’re telling me that the path to eternal life, the very scientific question posed throughout all of humanity, is being perfected and headquartered right here…in the middle of nowhere island? I’m sorry, but I’m having a hard time processing this. It goes against everything I ever assumed about…the way things work. Nothing in this world can live forever. Even the oldest pines will one day wither and die.”

Delphine stands up and picks up a knife from the kitchen. She turns on the gas stove and holds the knife over the open flame before returning to the bed. “Watch.” She takes the knife, grits her teeth, and slides the tip across the palm of her left hand.

“What are you doing? Stop!”

A thin red line appears on the surface of the doctor’s skin, with a few drops of blood percolating upward. “Wait.” Only a few seconds later, the blood begins to dissolve back under her skin. Within a minute, a faint burgundy-brown scar is all that remains. “The wound will probably disappear in an hour.”

“What just happened?”

“A few days after I arrived at Camp Revival, I suffered a particularly nasty fall. Bruised half of my body. My face looked like an extra from a horror movie. But by the end of that night, most of the bruises disappeared. A week later, my body felt completely healed, like the accident never happened.”

“So this serum they’re working on – it clearly works already," Cosima notes. "And the founder of Neolution, PT Westmoreland, I’m presuming he has been taking it. That’s how he’s been able to live as long as he has. So how do you fit into this picture?”

“Do you know how many potential side effects there are for a simple allergy pill?" Delphine asks. "A medication for life itself comes with a dire price. Nobody asked me for permission to be their subject. I was unable to sleep for days after the injection. Truthfully, I have not had a peaceful night’s rest since that day. It comes in fits, and even when I do drift to sleep I only have nightmares, vivid ones, so I can only hope I do not dream.

“But I am alive, and I can still search for a cure for you. I can see you again, and while your presence gives me strength, it also causes me to worry. We won’t be safe here, but I do not see how it’s possible to escape Camp Revival once you arrive.

“They tell me that once I’ve perfected the Ambrosia, take away the side effects in order to bring it to mass market and develop a one-time dosage that doesn’t require regular injection…once it’s finished, then I will be free.”

“Do you believe them?”

She pauses for a second too long. “No.”

Cosima takes Delphine’s hands into hers, feeling them as though her beloved's presence alone was not enough to convince her that she was alive. “Does it bother you, what you’re doing?”

“This is the greatest challenge of my life and the most exhausting experiment. However, I stand at the cusp of the greatest scientific discovery of mankind.” Her eyes widen, her expression awestruck at her work’s potential. “Men have scoured the world searching for a fountain of youth, and this, right here, is the closest we have ever come. Every day I doubt if it’s even possible and then we come so close to another breakthrough. They employ some of the world’s finest scientists on this island. I’m working with some of them right now, and others we videoconference in secrecy…”

“No, I mean. Discovering eternal life, unencumbered by any ethical standards, for a, let’s say, less than scrupulous cause.”

“Well, I clearly have no choice in the matter, do I?”

“But do you think it’s a good idea?”

“Think of all the suffering this serum could alleviate. If you thought you were going to lose a loved one to cancer, or old age…”

“I can think of several scenarios where this is not a good idea. Death serves its purpose. Nature, every second, fluctuates between life and death. Life will pass on and then it comes back anew. I mean, how many billion years does this planet have before it’s consumed by the sun? If you are indestructible, then what – you’re floating across the expanse of the universe for all of eternity? And if you thought humans take each other and all they have for granted, just wait until we believe we have an eternity. Think about it – everything we love has value precisely because it can one day be taken away from us.

“What if we become slaves, and that’s our forever fate because we’ll always be serving generations of our master’s family? What if we are trapped somewhere in the world, from a fall in a canyon or buried by an old foe, and we’re never discovered? What about overpopulation? What about people serving life sentences in prison? What if, what if! Could I possibly believe this would be used for good without a hitch by a group with the best of intentions, let alone by Neolutionists?”

“I cannot consider all of these things, not when I have access to a lab and can work on your cure…”

“I know it’s a lot to take in. But our actions have consequences, severe ones.” Cosima spots the metal container on the table and changes the subject. “What do you have there?”

“I was grabbing breakfast for us. I hope you are well enough to eat.” She opens the container, revealing smoked salmon, omelets, toast, and fresh fruit. She sets their meal on the table and pours two cups of tea. “ _Bon appetit_!”

“Does everyone eat that well here or is that a perk of being friends with the head researcher?”

Delphine laughs. “I’m not the head. Dr. Ian Van Lier is, but there are things even he does not understand, which is where I come in. And yes, as a matter of fact, we are fed quite well.”

“It seems you all have access to the most cutting edge medical technology in the middle of an island, no less. And there is quite an exquisite manor situated on the top of that hill…Where do they get the money?”

“Someone is funding it. PT may be wealthy, but I doubt it’s all from him. There’s an outside source that knows how lucrative the serum can become.”

“Topside.”

“It’s possible. Or there may be other actors at play.”

“Is he power-hungry, PT?”

Delphine furrows her brow. “Careful. You never know if you’re being recorded. Any sign of less than sufficient loyalty is outed fairly quick.”

“Well then, that tells me all I need to know. It makes me question, though, why PT would want to mass market eternal life, even if it affords him a lavish lifestyle. Wouldn’t he want to be the only one to have it?”

“He is the only reason why you exist, Cosima, and for that I am grateful to him.” That much was true. Without PT, there would have been no Project Leda, no clones, and thus she and her sisters would have never been alive, though it was debatable whether or not that was a blessing or a curse.

“It wasn’t out of his generous heart. I was never consulted for anything.” Cosima takes a bite of toast.

After they finish breakfast, Delphine stacks up the metal tins and washes them in the sink.

“I still don’t understand,” Cosima muses. “Rachel.” She was the only one of the Leda clones working for Neolution, the futurist scientific movement founded by PT. “What is she doing on this island? I would think she would be skeptical of Neolution by now, after all that’s happened. It’s not like her.”

“To her, this is just a stepping stone. She has a chance to play a major role here, one she couldn’t fulfill at Dyad alone. Before long, the government will discover what the institute has been doing and follow the murderous trail. This can impact the future of Ambrosia, which is why the research is being done here, in secret. But Rachel, she's different from PT. She’s not an ideologue. She’s an opportunist.”

Cosima glances over at her beloved, shakes her head, and grins.

“What?”

“I was thinking…you never even bothered to ask if Shay and I were still together.”

“Your lover? So…are you two still together?”

Cosima bursts out in laughter, and Delphine joins in.

“No, we drifted apart after you disappeared. But thank you for being considerate enough to ask.” The scientist smiles and walks over to the doctor, giving her a hug from behind. “I’ve got to hand it to you. You give Shay your blessing for her to be with me and then proceed to kiss me, several times now, and even hop straight into bed with me.”

“You were dying of hypothermia.”

“Hm, I don't think that's how you treat the symptoms.”

"You offered no protest."

" _Touché_." Cosima gives her beloved a kiss on the cheek. "It's good to see you again."

  

***

 

After breakfast, Delphine heads off to the lab to conduct her research. It won’t be long, she promises. As soon as she comes across the missing cell lines and right equipment: the syringe, the needle…she would pocket them without anyone noticing. But in the lab, she is watched like a hawk. Every drop of Ambrosia was to be accounted for.

That night was to be their second one together, and as exhausted as she was, Delphine was looking forward to catching up with her beloved. But they had just finished dinner when the knock came at the door. It was the elderly man she had bickered with in the morning, known only as the Messenger.

'You've come early,” Delphine notes. “Please, give me time.”

“What’s going on?” Cosima asks.

“It’s…merely work at the lab.”

“You’ve already spent the entire day at the lab.”

“Dr. Cormier,” the Messenger replies sternly. “If you expect us to keep your friend around…”

“I’m coming.” Delphine turns to her beloved. “I’m sorry. I won’t be able to spend the night. I’ll return as soon as I am able.” She gives her beloved a parting kiss.

Cosima accepts the reality and nods. “Okay. Do what you need to do.”

“ _Je t’aime_.” The doctor takes one last look at the scientist, forces a smile, and leaves.

Cosima didn’t know how long she was asleep, an hour, perhaps two, when she is awakened by a knock on the window. _Delphine?_ She forces herself up and opens her mouth in shock, glaring at the person staring back at her.


	2. The Visitor

_How many more people must die to save us, when all they end up doing, really, is buying us time before Neolution enslaves or kills us all?_

 

Cosima finds her own face staring back at her, but with weary eyes and stubborn hair. _Sarah?_

She forces the window open and helps pull her sister clone inside the yurt as Sarah winces in pain, biting onto a gloved hand to keep quiet.

“Why are you here?” Cosima asks. “What happened to your leg?”

“Rachel stabbed me. And she’s kidnapped Kira and Mrs. S.”

“Okay, calm down. Take a deep breath.” The scientist kneels down to observe the injury. “You wrapped your wound with a tampon? You may have just saved your life. Let me help you with that.”

“No no, augh!”

Cosima’s searches the yurt for a first aid kit before tending to Sarah’s wounds. “You couldn’t knock?”

“You’ve got a fifteen-year-old kid asleep at your doorstep!”

“This is going to hurt. Hold onto something.”

“God Cos!”

Ten minutes later, the wound is tightly bandaged up. Cosima offers Sarah some bread, cheese, and water.

“You’re down with a fever too. I’ll grab you some acetaminophen.” Cosima reaches into the kit. “Why did you come? Shouldn’t you be looking for Kira?”

“I needed to know you were all right,” Sarah gasps in between deep breaths. She accepts the medicine and swallows. “You have the cure?”

“Yes. Delphine just needs the other half of the cell line and then she can cure Charlotte and me.”

“Delphine?” Sarah furrows her brow. “Are you mental?”

“She’s alive, and Neolution has been keeping her here," the scientist replies. "Their founder, PT Westmoreland, he’s perhaps the oldest man alive and he’s living right here, on this island. He’s developing this Ambrosia serum that can make people live forever…Will you please stop moving your leg?”

“Much good your warning will do. We’re taking off after this.”

“What do you mean, we?”

Sarah forces herself to stand but falters. “Do you know what I’ve gone through to come and get you? We’re leaving, we’re going to save Kira and Mrs. S, and I refuse to waste time reasoning with you. Now help me up.’”

“I’m not leaving. Sarah, listen to me. If what Delphine says is true, we are in the very heart of Neolution. What better way of learning what they are planning to do than to stay?”

Sarah scoffs. “You’re supposed to be the objective scientist. If they’re letting you stay, it’s not to welcome you with tea and scones. There’s a reason.”

“Think about it. I can potentially meet Westmoreland, our creator! The questions I can ask him. And I can discover all the research that they’re conducting, what Project Leda is all about.”

“And once you know all that you’re dangerous, Cos. You’re a threat. Unless you join them.”

“You know me. I would never do that.”

“Why don’t you just admit what this is really about?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh piss off, Cos! You only want to stay here because of the hot French doctor!”

“You really believe that’s what this is all about?”

“I know that’s what it’s about. You may be curious, but you’re not reckless. Not like this. But at least you’ve got someone who cares for you and there’s no way you’re giving that up.”

“You think I’m just some sheltered lab rat?”

“What have you ever had to go through?!” Sarah snaps. “Someone’s been trying to murder me ever since the day I saw someone with my own face hurl herself in front of a train! I’ve had my daughter kidnapped and her DNA extracted by evil men and women! And I sure as hell don’t have a single person who would be willing to lay down their life for me! Paul was the last.”

Cosima folds her arms. “Oh, I’m sorry because apparently coughing up my own lungs and balancing on the verge of death wasn’t enough of a sob story, and I can’t even have children who could be taken away from me even if I wanted some guy to knock me up!” She sighs. “I’m sorry. We’re still sisters and I…”

“Look. I am going to leave now, and I am going to rescue my family. I don’t know about you, but I won’t let any more people sacrifice their lives for us. Paul is dead, but you…You still have her.

“How many more people must die to save us, when all they end up doing, really, is buying us time before Neolution enslaves or kills us all? They want you, Cos, and Delphine will be nothing more than a pawn to force you to do their bidding. You understand that full well. And if you don’t leave her, she’s next.”

Cosima lowers her head, digesting her sister’s words. “Right now, I’m not even well enough to execute an escape even if I wanted to." She opens the container holding three blood-red vials of the cell line.

“The cure," Sarah says. "Tell me you did not let Delphine know about this.”

“We can trust her.”

“You’re not afraid she might not be the same person we know? Time has elapsed. You don’t know what information they’ve been feeding her.”

“Right now, I don’t have any choice but to trust her, given how few allies we have on this island. Here.” Cosima removes one of the vials. “Give this to Scott, so he can study it and create copies for all the Leda clones. If he’s able to replicate the other half of the cell line, have him administer the cure to Alison.”

Cosima opens the front door slightly and finds her teenage minder still asleep. With all her strength, she wraps Sarah’s arm around her shoulder and slowly walks her out.

When they finally reach the forest and are out of earshot, Cosima whispers, “We each have a role to play here. I will try to gather as much intelligence as I can on PT and Neolution. And your job is to work with Alison and Helena and gather as much information as you can on who is funding the entire charade and expose them.”

“Do you know what you’re asking?" Sarah scoffs. "I can’t do this alone. I’ll need everyone, perhaps even Rachel.”

“Rachel and Neolution are of the same cloth. We cannot trust her," the scientist glances around her, making sure they are alone. "If you can, I need you to return at midnight, 30 days from now. I’ll drop off whatever information I have to you at that time. I hear there is a cabin, south of the island, where boats can dock. Meet me there." She wraps her sister in a hug. “Good luck. And don’t go off spouting nonsense over who is or isn’t willing to die for you. Expose the funding source.”

“You’re asking a rather lot.”

“I know, but out of all the Leda sisters, you are the one who can pull this off. You are strong, you are a great mother to Kira, and one hell of a sister to us. You have to save us all. Save us, Sarah.” Back at the camp, a man calls out. Cosima faces her sister and holds her in a final embrace. “Go. Now!"

 

***

 

In the day, Delphine would head out for work at the lab, returning once in the late afternoon to cook dinner for Cosima and administer her medication, then again at night after a long day of research. The French doctor was often too exhausted to do much more than tell her friend how promising the cure she was preparing for her was, if only Rachel agreed to release the other half of the cell line.

But tired or not, Delphine would rarely fall asleep. Instead, she would lie next to Cosima, watching over her. And some nights, the Messenger would knock at the door. A look of dread would overcome the doctor when that happened, but it would be futile to ignore it, as the banging would only grow progressively louder. She would apologize, knowing how disappointed her beloved would feel to have her leave during their few moments together, but she would promise to return as soon as possible.

Delphine was careful not to discuss anything more about the Ambrosia. She wouldn’t speak about what happened during those nights when she was summoned, though Cosima would sometimes hear muffled crying when the doctor believed she had fallen asleep. In those moments, the scientist would reach out to grab her hand or hold her head against her neck. Delphine would often feel numb in the hours and days following those nights. She would hardly eat, her gaze would suddenly meander elsewhere, and there would be no any intimacy between them beyond an embrace or kiss.

Cosima would assume it was the result of an urgent task at the lab, perhaps an experiment she strongly disagreed with…So she would respect her beloved's insistence they not discuss what she was doing on the outside. But that didn’t mean her heart didn’t break every time the doctor left or wonder if she would return as the same person.

 

***

 

A little more than a week into Cosima’s stay, her body was making a turn for the worse. Delphine’s love could only sustain her with so much strength to carry on.

One afternoon, as Cosima rests in the yurt, nursing her latest fever, she hears a firm knock on the door. “Hold on!” She sits up – perhaps Delphine had forgotten the key. Suddenly, the knob turns and she’s surprised to come face-to-face with Rachel Duncan, the corporate clone.

“Hello Cosima. I heard you were living with Dr. Cormier and thought to pay a visit. How are we today?”

“Rachel? What do you want from me?” Cosima snaps, her heart thumping in her chest.

“Relax. I have nothing against you. It’s Sarah I have my differences with.” Rachel takes a seat beside the scientist and places a hand against her forehead. “You were always my favorite. The brilliant one, the one who would cure us all.”

Cosima flinches. “If I really mattered, you would approve the cell line Delphine needs to create a cure.”

“Surely you understand that a matter of such importance takes time. I released the cell lines this morning. Your girlfriend, I’ve really underestimated her. It really does seem like she can pull this off. Perhaps as soon as tonight.”

“Did you stop by so I can thank you? Why are you even here, Rachel? I thought you distrusted Neolution.”

“I happen to believe it better to be on the inside than out. Here we can accomplish anything we could have ever imagined, fulfill the very purpose of our being. We will start human cloning again.”

“Considering how well that went the last time around? What happened then, Rachel? Think of all the people who died along the way. Do you really think this time would be no different? Or none of it ever mattered to you.”

“You should be one to speak. Why are you even alive? Why is Sarah? Alison? Kira? Do they mean nothing?”

“We were not created from the sheer benevolence of their hearts! All that Neolution has wrought is suffering.”

Rachel scoffs. “What medication has Dr. Cormier been feeding you? I’m actually trying to help. Without me, you won’t live long. Remember that. Also, you’d be advised to keep that attitude under control when you meet your creator.” She turns to leave. “Rest well.”

 

***

 

Delphine returns later than usual that night, shaking with excitement.

“I’m sorry I didn’t join you for dinner tonight," she says. "I know you cannot wait a day more. I was putting together the finishing touches on your cure.”

“I heard Rachel provided the final piece. What do we owe her?”

“Nothing. Not to her, at least. She released it on the instruction of Mr. Westmoreland.”

“Well then. Let’s get started.”

“But the equipment…the syringes, everything…are still in the lab.”

“What?”

“PT doesn’t want anything that can be connected to administering the Ambrosia serum to be unaccounted for, including needles. What choice do we have, Cosima? This is your last chance to get well.”

“Okay. I just thought we could get this done tonight.”

“Trust me, I want this finished as soon as possible but…they were adamant the operation be completed in their facility. And they have a point. You have a greater chance getting infected here. Once this is done, hopefully, you will be cured. For good this time.” Delphine reaches over for a kiss.

“What if this doesn’t work?”

“You don’t trust me, _mon amour_? I know this will work. It must.”

 

***

 

The next morning, Cosima is in unusually high spirits as she walks hand-in-hand with Delphine and Charlotte, her eight-year-old pigtailed sister clone, to the laboratory. It is located at the outer edge of the camp, adjacent to PT’s manor, with a large metal gate positioned on the side of a hill. Two armed guards scrutinize Delphine’s badge and letter from PT, and they open the front doors.

A minder greets the trio at the entrance, as if anticipating their visit, and offers to escort them to their destination, although they all understood this was more a stipulation than an offer. After crossing a dark tunnel they reach a single elevator at the end. The minder scans his identification card and they make their way underground.

Cosima could barely believe her eyes when the doors finally parted, exposing a labyrinth of cubicles and laboratories, with scientists milling about, pushing carts, poring over charts, typing away on their laptops…

“How many people work here? How did…”

“Impressive, isn’t it Miss Niehaus?” The minder interrupts. “This way please.”

They make a roundabout turn, as if to prevent them from being exposed to more of the facility. Finally, they reach their destination, and the minder unlocks the door.

“This is the bunker. It’s our finest facility, completely sterile. I will wait for you outside when you’re done, Dr. Cormier.”

Delphine nods in thanks and unlocks a cabinet, taking out the needed equipment. She opens her container holding two vials of the finished cure and loads the syringes.

“Go on,” Cosima says. “Operate on Charlotte first.”

Delphine glares back disapprovingly. “Charlotte is not exhibiting nearly as many symptoms as you. You are dying.”

“I would feel a lot more comfort knowing that Charlotte is cured.”

“Very well,” the doctor sighs. “Don’t worry, I’ll come right back for you.” She winks.

“That won’t be necessary, Dr. Cormier.” Rachel appears at the door.

“Mr. Westmoreland himself signed off on this operation,” Delphine protests.

“Two operations in one day would be too exhausting for you. Furthermore, we can’t end up risking both clones, can we?”

“Then who will complete Cosima’s operation?”

Rachel smirks. “I will.”


	3. The Cure

_If we are meant to be in the end, what more is there to discuss?_

 

Never before had Cosima ventured so close to a cure. The moments she languished, bedridden and in severe pain…how Kendall, the Leda original, was murdered in an attempt to keep the cure from them, how they fought Rachel in the struggle to obtain it…and now it was all slipping away.

No, she couldn’t stand for that. “I want Delphine to operate on me or none at all.”

“I’ll have you know this is right up my alley.” Rachel replies, putting on her surgical gloves. “I spent all last night studying the procedure. You will hardly tell the difference.”

“It’s all right, Cosima,” Delphine says. “ _Inutile de discuter._ It’s just sticking a needle.” Delphine flashes a look of _we’re in no position to negotiate._

Cosima turns to Rachel. “Why are you doing this?”

“We are sisters, after all, you and I. I thought I’d make myself useful. Now, Dr. Cormier, you’re welcome to take the room to your right.”

Delphine looks over to Cosima and nods. _Whatever Rachel is up to, we don’t have a choice in this matter._

“What are you waiting for?”

Without another word, Delphine picks up the cure and medical equipment in one hand and holds Charlotte’s hand with the other as they move to the adjacent operating room.

“Lie down, Cosima," Rachel commands. "I said, lie down.”

With the door securely shut between them and Delphine, Cosima finally breaks her gaze. “You’ve done everything in your power to keep me away from that cure. I’m not buying this.”

“Mr. Westmoreland has a plan for you, understood? You’re going to usher in scientific advances the world over. And we’ll need you alive in order for this to happen. Now lie down.”

Cosima reclines on the operating table, breathing slowly as Rachel pours rubbing alcohol over a cotton ball. While she would have preferred Delphine’s surgical precision to administer the prick of the needle, at the very least she knew the Charlotte would be in good hands.

The scientist closes her eyes and remembers that night in Felix’s apartment, when she had decoded her own genome with Delphine’s help. It was shortly after the doctor's first betrayal: lying about her motivations, concealing the fact that she had been working for Neolution all along, and leaking intelligence on the Leda sisters.

Despite the fact she had no reason to ever believe her again, Cosima had decided to allow Delphine back into her life, believing she was genuinely remorseful and had switched sides. And when they finally cracked her genetic code, Cosima revealed her secret: that she was sick and would likely die from a mysterious illness afflicting the Leda clones.

Never before had she felt so alone, but in that moment, she held onto Delphine’s embrace, placing her fate with this secretive monitor who she didn’t even know if she could trust...

 

***

 

“ _Chérie,_ it is over now. Open your eyes.” Cosima awakens to Delphine leaning over to place a kiss on her forehead. “You may feel sore for the next few days, but it will get better in time.”

Cosima puts on her glasses and finds herself back in the yurt. The skies outside the window had faded to black, signaling nightfall. She feels her face and notices she is no longer wearing a cannula. “What happened?”

“You passed out. But it’s completely normal, you were already so sick I wouldn’t have been surprised.”

“And Charlotte.”

“The operation was a success. She’s resting now.” Delphine leans over, placing one hand on her beloved's cheek. “Hey. You are safe now.”

“Lie next to me, please.”

Delphine hesitates, knowing even a sudden movement on the bed could harm the scientist. She carefully lies down beside her.

“You know, this is really all I want, in the end,” Cosima says. “Just for you to lie here, next to me. That's all.”

“What can I do for you? Would you like me to tell you a joke, recount my misadventures in France, give you a massage?”

“Could you sing for me?”

“Sing? _Chérie_ , what makes you think I can sing?”

“You used to do it sometimes. In the lab.”

“You heard me?” the doctor smiles. “I thought I was being quiet.”

“I like your voice. I always wanted you to sing out loud. Could you do that?”

She laughs. “All right. What would you like me to sing?”

“Anything.”

“I’ll sing you a French song. One my mom sang often when I was a child.”

She searches the lyrics in her head and begins to sing. For a moment, Cosima’s mind wanders away from the pain, from the island and the circumstances they now found themselves in.

“That was beautiful," the scientist says when it was over. "What's the song about?”

“I haven’t really thought about the lyrics before. It’s basically about a woman crying over her lover who is doomed to be hanged, so he proposes they be executed together.”

“Really? Well that’s surprisingly dark for such a sweet song.” Cosima turns over to one side. “Talk to me. I feel like we’ve both been so caught up in this Project Leda shit that we never really got to, well, know each other. What’s your favorite food? Where do you like to dance? Who was your first crush? You know, girl talk.”

Delphine smiles. “Okay. Let’s girl talk.” They begin to chat for a while, like old friends.

“I’m totally going to judge you for that!” Cosima blurts after one particularly embarrassing admission.

“You promised you wouldn’t!”

“Wow. My goodness this totally changes my perception of you. My innocent puppy…” The laughing dies down and Delphine reaches over to hold her beloved’s hand.

“When did you know, Cosima? That you liked women?”

“I haven’t really pondered that question before. I mean, the signs were always there. I’d see a couple on television or hear a song on the radio and would know exactly what it feels like, the longing to be with the woman. I was eighteen when I had my first real relationship. She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen up to that point.”

“What happened?”

“She went back to her boyfriend.”

Delphine bursts out laughing.

“What? What about you then? Why are you such a mystery?”

“I did date a gay guy once. But women…I was always in a relationship, man to man to man. I’ve always liked women, appreciated their bodies but, I never really thought too deeply into it, like I did not want to go down that road. And more often than not, I had a man by my side, so why should I delve deeper into those desires?” Delphine turns to Cosima, “So were people…fine with you…”

“Yeah, it just wasn’t a big deal where I grew up. My adopted parents were fine with it, proud even. Like having a test tube gay daughter clone was just what they wanted. Doesn’t mean it was easy all the time but, I think I had it pretty good compared to most.”

Delphine strokes Cosima’s face, then pauses, lost in thought.

“Is everything all right?” the scientist asks.

“Have you ever thought about getting married?”

“Me? It hadn’t always been a possibility but yes, someday.”

“Let’s get married.”

“Like, right now? You seriously want to get married right now?” Cosima laughs. “I thought you would have gone for some romantic French gesture, complete with candles and rose pedals and minstrels...” Her smile fades, confronted with the reality. “But how can we even discuss such a thing at this time? We are essentially slaves to Neolution. I don’t know if Sarah will succeed, if we’ll ever be allowed out of here. There’s too much uncertainty.”

“If we are meant to be in the end, what more is there to discuss?”

“Delphine, listen.” Cosima takes the doctor's hands into hers. “You don’t need to bring up marriage just because things seem dire right now. You don’t have to prove you’ll always be there even if I may be dying or hunted down in the name of science. Understand? Now let’s try to get some sleep.”

" _Bonne nuit, mon amour_ ," Delphine replies, acknowledging that at least for now, marriage was out of the question.

 

By the next morning, Cosima feels invigorated enough to wash herself. And when Delphine arrives late in the afternoon to prepare dinner, she finds it already served.

“This is a surprise,” Delphine says, hanging up her coat. “You didn’t want to wait until I returned for us to start cooking?”

“No offense, because I do appreciate how thoughtful you were to cook for us but…”

“No, I get it. Even back at the lab it was instant noodles and hot dogs every night. I’m a lousy cook. Now what are we having?”

 

***

 

A few nights later, their dinner is interrupted by a loud knock on the door. “That’s rather early,” Cosima notes.

“I’ll get it,” Delphine says. Spotting the Messenger at the door, she flinches.

“That's how you greet me?" he barks. "I have only a request tonight. You do not need to come with me.”

“Very well. Can we take this outside?” She steps out of the yurt.

“When can she start at the lab?” the Messenger asks. “It’s been days. You’ve already administered the treatment.”

“In time. She’s still healing.”

“Mr. Westmoreland is hosting a dinner tomorrow night. Miss Niehaus is to be expected there.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Do not be late.”

Delphine returns with a discouraged look on her face and shuts the door firmly behind her.

“I heard everything,” Cosima says. The doctor opens her mouth to speak, but the scientist interrupts her. “I understand they are expecting something in return if they are keeping me here alive. But I’ll be well enough for dinner tomorrow. I think we can learn something from PT, and I’m going to need more information. We may be his guinea pigs, but he’s still the reason why I exist and why I am still alive.”

“He will only pull wool over your eyes, fool you.”

“Let me decide that. And you don’t need to tell people I’m dying. They won’t believe you. I know you are trying to protect me. But you need to be careful yourself.”

 

***

 

The next night, Cosima and Delphine walk hand in hand to PT’s manor at the top of a hill. It felt strange, having a teenage minder accompany them up those steps, as though they needed supervising.

“Here we are.” Their minder rings the doorbell. “You must feel so honored. There have been people who've lived here half their lives but were never invited to dinner before. You must be really special.” The Messenger opens the door. Cosima enters first, her arm extended behind her to hold Delphine’s hand.

The Messenger turns to the doctor. “I never asked you to be here, did I?”

“It was my understanding I could bring a guest,” Cosima intervenes.

“It’s not that type of dinner,” he snaps.

“It’s okay,” Delphine replies. “If they didn’t invite me, I’ll wait back at the yurt.”

Cosima looks at her friend, a tinge of fear reflected in her eyes. But the scientist quickly pulls herself together. This wasn’t the image she wanted to impart, especially if it may be their last. “Okay.” She gives Delphine’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

“No, let them in.” A voice booms from inside. The Messenger concedes and ushers the pair inside. Even then, Delphine appears hesitant to enter.

Cosima had expected them to walk in to greet PT, to pause by a sofa next to a burning fireplace, lean over, and hold the wrinkled hand of an ancient man. Instead, she spots three guests milling about the living room, glasses of scotch in their hands.

“I can't believe it. I know all these people," the scientist mutters. "That’s Dr. Charles Koh. He’s the leading immunologist in North America. Professor Carter Enright, she’s a Rhodes Scholar and renowned geneticist in her own right. Dr. Jermaine Digby is a pioneer on the HIV virus and rumored to be next in line to helm the WHO.” Cosima turns to Delphine. “My inner nerd is totally geeking out right now.”

“You should say hello,” Delphine replies supportively.

“Are you kidding? These people are superstars in their fields. I’m just a…”

“If it isn’t Miss Niehaus.” Dr. Koh offers a hand. “Heard so much about your work.”

“Looks like someone’s a little starstruck.” Dr. Enright chimes in.

Cosima nods. “I’m such a big fan of all that you do. And you’re all working on…um, why are you here?”

Dr. Digby laughs. “You didn’t know? There is a small but healthy Neolutionist community among academia. The elites may scoff at us, yes, but once PT proved to us it could be done, why, what scientist wouldn’t want to play a role in this grand experiment?”

“You mean, finding the source of eternal life?”

The three scientists look to each other. “We’ve all been asked to consult, in one way or another,” Dr. Koh says. “But PT jealously guards his secrets. We don’t know much about it, to be honest. I would presume it’d be at least another decade before a treatment can be utilized in any practical manner.”

From the corner of her eye, Cosima spots a tall, lumbering figure standing by himself, walking toward them unassisted.

“You don’t happen to know anything about it, do you?” Dr. Enright asks. “I suppose everyone invited here tonight knows something.”

The man now stands before them, looking each guest in the eye before turning to Cosima. “Anything I can assist you with, ma’am?"

“Yes, we’re here to see Mr. Westmoreland.”

“Well, Miss Niehaus, a pleasure we could finally meet in the flesh. You’re speaking to him right now.”

Cosima opens her mouth to speak but no words come out.


	4. Meet Your Maker

_Religions promised it. Emperors murdered for it. And I…have found it._

 

Cosima stands speechless. The man most patently responsible for her very existence, for Sarah’s and Helena’s and Alison’s…and for all the pain and struggles they’ve encountered ever since…PT Westmoreland, in all of his 170 years, and yet he looked not a day over sixty. His skin was pale but natural, his back ramrod straight, his hands wrinkled but firm.

“Wasn’t expecting this, were you?” PT grins.

“You look so…” _Could he really be 170 years old?_

“…Much younger than you thought?” He finishes her sentence. “It’s all right. That’s the first thought that comes to mind to most visitors. The table is being set as we speak. Let’s make our way, shall we?”

They sit down, with Cosima positioned to PT’s right. “I trust you’ve spoken to everyone.”

“Yes, Mr. Westmoreland.”

“Please, call me PT. Make yourself at home.”

“Thank you sir. I’m sorry, I just...I have so many questions.”

“Tonight, you and Dr. Cormier are my guests. Please, enjoy yourselves, and I will answer any questions you may have after dinner.”

It was an elaborate affair: as great as the offerings were in the camp below, up at the manor there is steak ferried from Australia, salad greens shipped from California, gelato imported from Italy. Cosima dines to her heart’s content, for only recently had she regained her appetite.

“There’s plenty to go around,” PT boasts. “You can even take some home if you’d like.”

PT’s guests are more than entertained, their cheeks rosy from the alcohol. They regale themselves with stories of scientific breakthroughs and mishaps, and Cosima finds herself struggling to keep up with the banter.

For her part, Delphine does not appear interested, not in the food, in the conversation, and most certainly not with PT, who she refuses to make any eye contact with.

“Hey.” Cosima places a hand on Delphine’s lap. “You okay, love?”

“I’m just…it’s all very delicious, but I’m not that hungry.”

Cosima drops her voice to a whisper. “You don’t have to force yourself. I want to make sure that you’re okay. We can leave right after dinner if you’re not comfortable.”

“No, don’t do that. I know you have a lot of questions for him.”

“Are we feeling all right, Dr. Cormier?” PT smiles, perhaps a bit too saccharinely.

“Yes, I am fine.” She still refuses to meet his gaze.

“If you aren’t feeling well, I can have the Messenger guide you back.”

Cosima looks the doctor in the eye. “I’ll be fine. If you need to go home, I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Of course.”

“Allow me to escort you out.” PT stands up, walks to the door, and opens it. Once they are both outside the manor, he turns to Delphine. “You care deeply about her, my daughter.”

“Cosima - she is incredible, but she is not your daughter.” Delphine replies calmly.

“Without me, there is no her, you understand? I’ve given my permission for her to stay with you, allowed you to nurse her back to health.”

“And for that I am grateful.”

“But you must understand, Dr. Cormier, nothing in this life comes without a price. She will be expected to lend her expertise.”

“I would assume you are done by now. The research we did, we are all just one piece of the puzzle, but it is finished, no?”

“Now aren’t we inquisitive? I don’t assume you’re planning to run elsewhere with that knowledge.”

“You know I wouldn’t. I’ve devoted myself to you and to Neolution, and I will continue to do so. So long as she is safe.”

_So long as she is safe?_

Delphine regrets the words as soon as they leave her mouth. From her first day on the island, she had not given Neolution any reason to question her complete devotion to their research. But now she had exposed a loyalty even higher than their cause.

PT allows the words sink in. “Very well. We have a long night ahead. I will see you back at the lab.”

 

The night carries on organically, with the guests growing louder by the hour and Cosima feeling lonely for being excluded from the conversation and away from Delphine. Just as she contemplates leaving, PT stands up for a toast, as if on cue.

“I believe some of you have flights to catch tomorrow morning. I’ll have the Messenger drive you to port and take you back to shore.”

“Thank you, PT.” Dr. Digby says.

“No thank you doctor, for bringing the samples.”

“You know everyone wants to know if it’s real,” Dr. Enright points out the elephant in the room. “This ‘fountain of youth’ experiment. Because at some point, it’s either put up or shut up.”

PT grins and delivers a ready response. “Do you realize the battery of tests required for a mere sleeping pill to gain approval for everyday use?”

“Don’t kid around with us,” Dr. Koh interjects. “We know how old you are.”

“Not everyone has my gift. This cure must work for everyone, not just those blessed with my genetics. And with your help, we can take this to the masses. Time will cease to be a luxury for the few.”

“And is it a gift?” Cosima interrupts, a little more boldly than she expected. “Eternal life, I mean. Do you enjoy it?”

PT chuckles. “Let me think, life or death, whatever shall I choose?” His guests laugh along with him. “That’s a good one, Miss Niehaus.”

After the last guest files out of the manor, PT invites Cosima to sit with him by the fireplace.

“As promised, I am here to entertain any questions you have for me.”

“Why?” Cosima asks him. “Everything you’ve done. Why?”

“That’s your burning question? I think the question should be why not? For all of mankind, we have thirsted for eternal life. Explorers traversed the ends of the earth to find it. Religions promised it. Emperors murdered for it. And I…have found it.”

“Those scientists believe it’s still decades away at best.”

“They don’t have the will to discover it! Did you know it would take man today twice as long to return to the moon than it took when they first sought a way to land on its surface? What I have, most scientists dare not to even dream. _Not possible_ , they turn up their noses and scoff! But this dream, it's real, and you too can carry its blessing. Project Leda, I hoped, would bring me one step closer.”

“Sir, on the possibility of eternal life…this would be a consideration that requires several years at least to think through.”

“Oh, but you can end it at any time. If someone was to run me through the wood chipper I would surely die, and with a more painful death than most.”

“With all due respect, it’s not that this wouldn’t be a tempting proposition if everything could work out. The problem is not knowing when it’s time to finally pull the plug. If I’m with the one that I love, would I ever end it when it’s time?”

“Very well. I knew you’d have your hesitations, so one step at a time, shall we? For now, I hope you can join Dr. Cormier in the lab, just like old times. You two will be able to create great things together.”

“I think we’ve conducted enough experiments for Neolution from our days at the Dyad Institute. I would need some time to think this over.”

“Very well. I only hope whatever path you decide, you think of your friend.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Not at all. I'm merely suggesting you two could be together, at the forefront of the greatest scientific discoveries, backed by the most cutting-edge technology and unlimited funding...Scientists would kill to be in your shoes.

"So you can come aboard or you can sit it out, but this train will barrel on to its destination. Imagine the countless lives we can save together. We will cure death itself.”

“I'm not going to mislead you - we will never be a part of this,” Cosima replies sternly. “This project you’re forcing Delphine to be a part of. The other scientists, you can have them, but we know better.”

PT sinks into the sofa and smirks. “I wonder how much you really understand her. Dr. Cormier was free to come and go as she please. So let us be clear on one thing: She chose to stay here.”

Cosima scoffs. “If that’s true, then why do you need so many guards and minders?”

“If you were developing the most important scientific advancement mankind has ever seen, I presume you’d set up some safeguards, would you not?”

“Well I’m sorry, Mr. Westmoreland.”

“PT.”

“Yes, forgive me if I may sound a little skeptical at the suggestion that Dr. Cormier would willingly allow everyone who knows and loves her to believe that she is dead while she contributes to your grand project without compensation or attribution.”

“She will receive her due. I’m not above crediting those who paved the way. Why do you think those scientists were so willing to get on board? And why, when they return, will they start planting the seeds in their communities, discussing the promise of Neolution? Because they’ve seen it. It’s real.”

“If we are all capable of acting independently here, I suppose you wouldn’t mind if I leave.”

“Not at all. I will need you to sign a NDA with us, naturally, if you do. But I know you are curious. You won’t be satisfied once you leave. You’ll want to know more. And you can have that. Stay with us. This is your home, with Dr. Cormier. You can be with her, for an eternity. I trust you’ll do the right thing.”

 

Cosima’s mind is ablaze with questions as she finally heads down from the manor, her teenage minder by her side. _What has Delphine been keeping from me? Was Sarah right – had she changed? Or was she like this all along?_

Delphine was always ambitious, after all, and this was the opportunity of many lifetimes. However, surely she would have enforced some limits, preserved some ethics. Or perhaps infatuation had clouded Cosima’s judgment, and the doctor was nothing like the noble qualities the scientist had projected onto her.

A small bedside lantern illuminates the yurt when Cosima returned. She opens the door, finding Delphine sitting in bed and reading a book. The doctor had long since given up trying to fall asleep, her insomnia a typical side effect of the Ambrosia.

“We need to talk.”

Delphine looks up, sensing the gravity of the situation, and sets the book aside. “I’m listening.”

“Is it true, that all of this…you are doing everything, willingly?” Cosima begins to quake, in anger and in fear.

The French doctor stares down at her hands, offering no defense.


	5. The Black Book

_No more losing your friends and loved ones to deficiencies in our genetics...no more soldiers dying on the battlefield because there wasn’t enough time…_

 

“What’s the meaning of this?”

Shay brandished a Dyad business card in front of Cosima’s face, while the scientist stared blankly back. They stood at the doorway of Shay’s apartment, weeks after Delphine’s disappearance.

“You haven’t called in weeks,” Shay continued. “I have tried to be patient with you and your psycho ex, who is just going to lie to you, again! I don’t know who you think I am, but I am not going to wait around as your rebound.”

“You know I wouldn’t do that to you,” Cosima pleaded. “I don’t even know where Delphine is right now.”

Shay crossed her arms. “You’re never going to stop loving her, are you?”

Cosima looked down and nodded. The point she had made was fair. “I’m sorry.”

“You want me to be the one to say it? I think it’s best, for the both of us, if you just go. I know a sinking ship when I see one.”

“I wanted our relationship, so much, to work. We complement each other in so many ways! I never meant to hurt you.”

“Well, you did.” Shay sighed. “Forget it. Grab your things.”

Cosima solemnly picked up a few items from the apartment and headed out the door without another glance.

“And Cosima…” The scientist stopped in her tracks. “You take care, okay? Whatever you’re going through, I hope it works out. I really do.”

In that moment, Cosima wanted to turn around, to apologize again, to give Shay a hug and thank her for the times they shared. But no, that would just make their goodbye all the more painful. It would be Delphine or nothing at all.

 

***

 

“Answer me!” Cosima calls out. “Did PT Westmoreland offer you the freedom to decide, to let us know you’re alive, to play a part in this goddamn experiment?!”

In present time, the scientist trembles in frustration and rage at the possibility the person she loved the most could mislead her again.

“This is not an easy question to answer,” Delphine finally replies, sitting in stillness on the bed.

“Honestly? Because it appears fairly black and white to me. PT said you had a lot more freedom than you’re letting on, and I want to know why, when I was at the lowest point of my entire life believing that you died, why did you choose not to tell us you were still alive?”

“They can say whatever they want about freedom, but does it look like any of us hold rights? There is only one area on this island that has reception that we know of, and even that is off limits. I have no phone. Our Internet is strictly censored. They can present us with the chance to reach our loved ones, but do I really trust my call is not monitored, that I would not have a strike next to my name for accepting their offer?

“I admit I did not contact you when I was offered the means. Because it would not be right. I was supposed to get out of your life so you can focus on Shay and…yes, I was afraid what you might think knowing I still work for Neolution.”

“Why didn’t you just say that?” Cosima shakes her head. “This entire experiment that you know I have strong feelings about…I saw you off every morning believing you had no other choice. Again, you are keeping secrets from me.”

“But the science, Cosima! I didn’t think it could be real but then they showed me. A mouse, a dog, a man who would not die…Please listen. How would you feel if you saw that happen, with your own eyes? Do you know what is coursing through my veins this very minute? The reason why my heart beats, why I am still living? Without so much as a blood transfusion, I am living proof.”

Cosima breaks down in tears. “You haven’t changed.”

“Think of the children we could prevent from becoming orphans, mothers from becoming widows, fathers from becoming childless…no more losing your friends and loved ones to deficiencies in our genetics...no more soldiers dying on the battlefield because there wasn’t enough time…Think of the crazy science.”

“Screw the crazy science! Am I speaking to you or PT? You want the credit. You want to be recorded as one of the greatest scientific minds of all time. And if it has to be under the banner of Neolution, so be it.”

“I don’t have anything anymore, Cosima! _Summa cum laude_ at a top university, a French expat forging a promising career out of nothing, Interim Director at Dyad and for what? Do you think I’ll ever become employable again, after someone digs through my past?”

“So this is your only way to be somebody…”

“They employ some of the best researchers in the world. If I’m not the one discovering a path to eternal life, someone else will down the line. You met those scientists he invited to dinner.”

“Will you listen to yourself and your petty excuses? You can’t give it up, can you? PT is a showman. He brought those scientists in to make a show of it, to make me believe that this is inevitable, that I should join my scientific heroes.” Cosima turns away, refusing to even look at her. “I should’ve known. The way you looked so excited talking about it.”

“Of course I’d be excited over the science. And I know deep down you are too.”

“Can you untangle yourself from the science for just one minute? Has Neo ever proven to be trustworthy? Ever? How many innocents must die, how many betrayals must we endure for you understand this basic fact? You float the prospect of marriage when you were still hiding all these secrets from me.

“You know, I lived my whole damn life unable to be close to anybody, because any one person could be my monitor, reporting my every move, but for you I made an exception. I let my guard down. I made myself vulnerable, confided my secrets, trusted my genetics, placed my life in your hands! And all I needed to know is if I can trust you.”

“You can. Please, _mon amour_.”

“Don’t give me this French bullshit! I’m leaving this godforsaken island, and you can decide if you want to join me or not.”

“It won’t be that simple. I have done my best to be cautious here. Even if PT allows you to leave, he will always follow you. You will never be truly free. He may make you believe there is freedom and choice, but he offers nothing but bondage.”

Cosima sighs, walks over to the bed, and sits down. She looks into Delphine’s rueful eyes, holds the doctor’s face in her hands, and pulls her into an embrace. “I need you…to tell me whatever it is that you are hiding from me. Trust goes both ways.”

“I…can’t.”

The scientist pulls back. “You don’t believe I can handle the truth, do you? You don’t think that I can truly love you, as you are, so you always have to hide. Please, talk to me. Let’s not have something like this come between us again. Tell me…why were you so uncomfortable at the manor?”

“PT…he’s done terrible things. He believes I owe him, that I am alive because he chose to save me.”

“He’s also the reason why you would be in a position to get shot.”

“Those nights, when the Messenger came to get me.” She begins to tremble, closing her eyes. “Some other scientists and I, we would be herded up to his manor on the hill. PT is in his prime at nightfall. He runs experiments in the basement. You would not want to know what goes on down there.”

“You can tell me.”

“It all revolves around that magical serum. We would conduct terrible experiments, sever heads and patch them back onto bodies. He would supervise. There was so much pressure, to get it right. There are…traumatic images I will never be able to unsee. Have you ever heard the wails of a dying human being? How does someone live with themselves after that?

“It’s true, I didn’t question it. I didn’t try to fight it. I even accepted it. And I participated in his grand experiment in part because I was curious and because I wanted to prove my worth as a scientist. But I also witnessed what happens to those who rebel, those who stand for principle.

“Don’t tell me that I don’t understand what is ethical and what is not. Because what happened down there, it’s pure evil. To believe this was all in the pursuit of a greater science, it is a…defense mechanism, to help me justify it all. It’s not a valid excuse, I know. But I wanted to survive, and if that makes me selfish, so be it.”

Cosima stares at the doctor in shock, absorbing her words. “Why didn’t you tell me? I'd kill him.”

“Precisely. But if you kill him, what will become of you?”

“Why then did you come out tonight?”

“Because I wanted to make sure you’ll be all right.”

“But I wouldn’t have wanted you to go through that! We are in this together, to the very end, you understand? No more secrets. No more half-truths and fear of judgment. No more bullshit in an attempt to protect me. Please, do not sell your soul to Neolution. We are a team. We need to survive this, together.”

Delphine closes her eyes, wipes away her tears, and nods. “What do we do now?”

“I need time to think,” Cosima replies. “Right now, we can only maintain the status quo. And you’re right. Even if you stood up and packed your bags, they are not, at this point, going to just let you waltz away without finishing the job. By now, you know too much. We have to learn whatever we can about this project, any incriminating evidence that we can pass on to Sarah. I will likely be forced to play some role for this serum at some point…”

“Cosima, I honestly believe it’s possible the Ambrosia has already been completed, perhaps weeks ago. It may not be perfect, but I think PT is going to start rolling it out for public consumption. The latest experiments, it is scary how effective it has become. But for the final dosage, he needs someone he trusts to be injected, to prove the human body can accept it and survive. And that person can’t be me. I’ve already been tainted by a prototype. Clones could become the prime targets for testing.”

“Okay,” Cosima sighs. “That’s a lot to take in. Is there anything else you would like to tell me?”

Delphine shakes her head. No.

“It’s been quite a night. Let’s rest.”

But as they lie next to each other that night, an unspoken, icy chasm separated them. Instead of laughing or holding each other close as they had nights before, they face away: one of them lost in the uncertainty of whether or not the person she loved could be fully trusted, the other anguished that her actions, no matter how well-intentioned, would always drive a wedge between them.

 

***

 

The next morning, Cosima decides to take advantage of her newfound vigor with a hike through the woods. Her teenage minder tails her, never more than fifty feet away.

“Hey kid, what brings you here?” the scientist asks. “Don’t you have parents to go home to?”

“The name’s Mud. And I don’t have a family anymore. Not outside of here, that is.”

Before Cosima could inquire further, they are interrupted by the piercing call of an air raid siren. “What was that?”

“We haven’t had one go off in months,” Mud replies. “PT has a speech he’s going to make. We have fifteen minutes to gather at the steps to his manor. He hardly ever shows up in public, so this must be important.”

They hurry back to camp, making it just as the Messenger walks up to the steps. Behind him sit PT and Dr. Ian Van Lier, the head scientist. PT is scrawling in a black leather book, crossing out and penciling in his notes, his brow furrowed in concentration. Behind him, a minder holds up an umbrella, shielding PT’s sensitive skin from the sun.

Cosima doesn’t pay much attention to the Messenger’s speech, instead focusing on PT. Even at 170 he appeared youthful, especially in comparison to the Messenger.

“That’s odd, the Dyad lady is usually here whenever there’s a speech,” Mud notes.

“You mean Rachel, the woman whose face looks like mine?”

Mud ignores her question. “It’s been days. No one knows where she is.”

“She probably has work back at Dyad.”

“She always got to be there when PT is.”

“It is my great honor to welcome the founder, the honorable Percival T Westmoreland!” The Messenger exults, reeking of ingratiation.

PT slides the book into his suit, takes off his sunglasses, and steps up to the podium, prompting a loud round of applause.

“So it’s true, the magic book,” Mud chimes.

“What do you mean?”

“The black book. PT carries it around with him everywhere. I see him tuck it into his suit and take it out to read from time to time. Only his eyes are allowed to glance its pages. It’s said to hold all the secrets of Neolution.”

“Oh.” Cosima doesn’t want to sound too interested.

PT waves at the crowd, exuding the charisma of a circus performer. “Camp Revival, how does it feel like to stand at the forefront of a scientific revolution? Decades ago, when I mentioned the very possibility of eternal life, I was denounced as a charlatan. Now, the same people beg me to remember their names! But I’ve taken upon myself these crown of thorns…”

“…while they crucify mankind upon a cross of lies! But I have seen with my own two eyes… And we shall proclaim this truth boldly before the mountains and heavens....” Mud mouths the lines with dramatic effect, whether in sarcasm or reverence, Cosima is unsure.

The scientist scans the crowd and spots Delphine standing towards the front, surrounded by the other researchers. The doctor turns around, and they lock eyes for a moment. Then they focus back on PT’s speech in the understanding that their every movement could be recorded and scrutinized.

For the rest of the day, Cosima’s thoughts would inevitably turn to the black book. It could provide the most useful information for Sarah when she returns – if she returns – to the island. Or it could be a trap. Perhaps PT wanted Mud to raise the idea of the book to her. Or perhaps it was an innocent admission on Mud’s part. Regardless, Cosima couldn’t help but be curious.

 

After PT’s speech, a dapper young man from the crowd gathers his courage and approaches Delphine. “Dr. Cormier.”

She turns around. “Yes? And you must be…”

“Francis. You remember me?” He wore a swanky suit but had an uneasy manner about him, one that suggested it was his loyalty as opposed to his competence that took him to the top. “We both worked at the Dyad Institute. I don’t think we’ve actually interacted but…”

“I think I may have seen you around. What brings you here?”

“Tell me, you’re a real doctor, right? Familiar with surgical operations and the like.”

“I have a degree in medicine…”

“And what is your relationship with Ms. Duncan?”

“Well, if you mean Rachel, she was the one who installed me as Interim Director at Dyad and…”

“Good. I don’t have a lot of options or much time, you see.” He shuffles uncomfortably. “I’m kind of going against her orders by even telling someone but this matter is of the highest urgency.”

“I am still on duty, could this wait until my shift ends?”

“Of course. I’ll come find you then.” 

 

***

 

Instead of returning to the yurt following the day’s research, Delphine gives in to her curiosity. She allows Francis to escort her down to the bunker, the very facility where she had administered the cure.

Rachel lies alone on the operating table, her body shivering violently in a cold sweat.

Delphine slowly makes her way over, examining her adversary. “ _Merde_. What happened to you?”


	6. Ambrosia Imperium

_Careful what you wish for. You’ll soon find the Ambrosia to be a form of hell in itself._

 

“You…what…are you doing here?” Rachel gasps, running out of breath after muttering a few words. She is lying on the operating table in the bunker, with her assistant, Francis, and Delphine by her side.

“Ms. Duncan, my apologies,” Francis explains. “I was afraid you didn’t have much longer. Dr. Cormier is an actual doctor and…I had no other choice.”

“I told you to keep the others out of this!” She lashes out, rocking the operating table. “I am firing you first thing…”

Delphine ignores the outburst. “What is wrong with her?”

“It started last week,” Francis replies. “She’s been vomiting everything she eats, hasn’t gotten any sleep, can barely function. I fear she’s running out of time.”

The doctor places a hand on Rachel’s forehead to check for fever, then she takes the corporate clone's left wrist and places two fingers on her pulse.

“Away from me, woman!” Rachel snarls, her usual prim and proper demeanor giving way to her natural hostility.

“My guess is your heart is pumping at two hundred beats per minute. You shouldn’t even be alive right now. And your symptoms, I am well aware of them. I’ve lived through hell myself: the sleeplessness, the loss of appetite, the migraines…”

Rachel stares daggers at Delphine as the doctor observes her hands.

“Your fingertips. They’re blue.”

“Her whole body was blue when it started.”

“Francis, enough!”

“The pigment has nothing to do with illness,” Delphine states matter-of-factly. “Rachel, do you know why your hands are blue? Because I must say that I am impressed. Considering how tightly they monitor every drop of Ambrosia, I’m surprised you managed to slip away with an entire dosage. Now tell me, was this the final product? The one that grants eternal life?”

Francis takes a step back. “What do you mean?”

“PT may not intend to be the first to test the final product, but by God he’s going to make sure only those he authorize can be injected,” Delphine explains. “So it would make sense that every copy contains methylene. It helps him figure out who got their hands on it and injected without his permission.”

“So what is happening to Ms. Duncan?” Francis asks. “Will she live?”

“God, Francis. I cannot die,” Rachel responds. “You summoned Dr. Cormier for nothing.”

“Tell me, Rachel, how did you get this?” Delphine inquires. “Because if PT was to know, everything you’ve ever worked for, is finished. He will never trust you again.”

“How would you know he didn’t authorize it?”

“All right then. Perhaps I should just bring it up, should I? I highly doubt it was his plan for you to be hidden away down here for the past week without any medical attention. But you couldn’t even wait. Something made you rush and inject the Ambrosia right away. You believed your window was closing…”

“You gain nothing by bringing this up to him. We can work together.”

Delphine scoffs. “I see how well it worked the last time we did.”

“Then use your knowledge as leverage.” Rachel breathes. “I can offer you answers.”

“Okay, let’s start with…is this the Ambrosia that grants eternal life?”

“Nothing is certain until it’s been tested…”

“You know what I’m asking.”

“Yes, this is the first of the final product. The Ambrosia Imperium.”

“How did you get it?”

“Dr. Van Lier…we have an understanding.”

“If you two have such a strong relationship, why wasn’t he asked to attend to you? Does he know about this? You don’t trust him?”

“No. He doesn’t know.”

“What is your agreement?”

“That I cannot disclose. It is strictly between us.”

“Well, if that is all, I’ll leave you two at it…”

“Wait. We all want answers Delphine. And it’s there, in plain sight. The black book.”

“PT’s book. I’ve heard of it. No one’s actually seen what’s written inside.”

“I can help you access it.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“I want answers…as much as the other clones. We all want to know what Project Leda is all about. And you have leverage. You know this. No one benefits if I’m gone. Not to mention I saved Cosima’s life.”

“Conducting an operation no one asked you for? Help me access the book and we will talk. Otherwise, your secret is not safe. You are also not to harm any of the Leda sisters, you understand? Promise me.”

“So that’s it?” Rachel sneers. “That’s your chief concern? Your time here is limited, Delphine. You know now that you have served your purpose. They won’t need you.”

“Give me your word, Rachel. Because if you cause the sisters any harm, PT will be the first to know of your deception.”

“I give it. But don’t you dare breathe a word to anyone…PT has ears everywhere.”

“Good. As for your illness, there’s not much we can do, especially for an untested serum. The best I can do is prescribe you naproxen. It’s the best way to mitigate the symptoms in my opinion.” The doctor leans forward, whispering in Rachel’s ear. “Careful what you wish for. You’ll soon find the Ambrosia to be a form of hell in itself.”

Before she leaves, Delphine turns around for the final word. “I also suggest you not fire Francis. I’ll advise him on the medications that will keep you sane. You have one week to recover and find me that book.” Francis opens the door, and they file out of the bunker.

 

***

 

When Delphine finally returns to the yurt that night, her face is worn and strained, but to Cosima she was as beautiful as she first remembered her. The French doctor hangs her coat on the rack, unsure of where their relationship was headed after their argument the night before. “Sorry I’m late. Thank you for preparing dinner,” she says sheepishly, managing a resolute smile that betrayed her insecurities.

In that moment, Cosima could envision them five years down the line, after failing to reconcile their differences. They would be standing on a bustling train platform in a fortuitous encounter. Her esteem shattered, Delphine remains broken, unable to hold together a lasting relationship after losing her ideal love. Cosima would have one arm wrapped around a woman she knew she could trust, one she genuinely cared for but could never surrender her full heart to.

Delphine would compel that same polite smile in acknowledgment of the crazy science they shared and fought for together. Cosima would smile back in silent recognition, before her new love pulls them towards their next destination. The two scientists would lock eyes one final time, resigned to the fact they were on differing paths in life and needed to move on.

But no, this could not be how their story ends. Even at the peak of her anger, Cosima knew her heart held such a love for this woman that she could never forsake her. What originated as an innocent crush quickly morphed into a life-or-death struggle that neither could survive alone. They now shared a history that could never be undone, a clone and her monitor, their fates forever intertwined.

Cosima takes a seat on the bed. “Looks like you’ve had a stressful day. Come here, my little puppy.”

Delphine obliges and enters into her beloved’s embrace. Cosima had missed those moments, feeling the warmth and softness of the doctor’s body in her arms.

“I have requested not to work on Project Ambrosia,” Delphine says. “They are going to transfer me. I will be just a simple medic. There will be other projects, I am sure, but even then we’ll find what information we can when Sarah returns and we make our escape. We are only here to gather intelligence.”

Cosima nods. "And I think I should probably stop declining their offers to join them at the lab. But only as an observer, not to assist them in their research. I refuse to play any role in it.”

The doctor agrees and stands up to leave, but the scientist reaches over to stop her.

“I know I have been selfish,” Cosima confesses. “Everything we’ve gone through has been about me and the Leda sisters, and your concerns have always come last. You willingly walk into these situations, to protect us, even though you were fully aware of the consequences and how I would feel about you. You asked for nothing in return, not even my devotion. All you needed was for me to trust you, and I couldn’t even give you that much.

“But even in those moments when things can get…fairly passionate between us, I wish I could just let you know, how much I love you. How much my heart aches just to see you again. Thank you for never asking me to change. For just letting me be me and stay forever in my geeky ways.”

Delphine smiles and pulls the scientist in for a kiss. “I take no offense. I understand why you respond the way you do. It is out of your love for the Leda sisters and in defense of your principles. So I respect that and don’t expect it to change for you. You have shown me a love I have never experienced, even when I may not be the easiest to love. Thank you for loving me as I am. Thank you for teaching me to be brave.”

“No, that was all you. You did it,” Cosima replies. “You’re a package deal, and I will love all of you. And I know, the only way for this to work is for us to trust each other. So I will stop questioning your motives, because I know that I can believe in you. But I want you to be honest with me. Don’t feel like you can’t tell me anything. I am here for you.”

“ _Bien sûr_. That’s only fair.”

 

During dinner, Cosima wanted to ask Delphine about PT’s black book and if she had heard about it. But no, it was best not to involve her. The scientist didn’t even know if Mud was leading her into a trap.

Delphine wonders if she should mention what happened with Rachel and how she was recruiting her to gain access to the black book. But no, after all, she wasn’t even sure if the yurt was bugged. What would Cosima think of her, knowing she had cut a deal with Rachel? She may dissuade her from participating in something so dangerous, chastise her for being so reckless. Better the scientist didn’t know in case their venture goes south and she is interrogated.

“Do you have something to tell me?” Cosima asks. “You look worried.”

“No. You?”

“Nothing.”


	7. Pact with the Devil

_The Tower of Babel will reach the heavens, and I shall cast the first brick._

 

Camp Revival displayed all the markings of a prison, to be sure, with no real freedom. But as long as they were together, it wasn’t half bad.

The next morning, Cosima wakes up to find breakfast prepared and a letter on the table. They kept a habit of leaving notes for each other; sometimes midday through a shift, Delphine would discover a folded piece of paper tucked inside her pocket.

 

_Ma moitié,_

_I was thinking recently, how before we met, nothing mattered beyond a career and the pursuit of scientific discovery. Perhaps that’s why none of my relationships could work. I didn’t know what it feels like to love something so much it’s worth putting your life on the line._

_I know the life we share is not conventional. But you are born a clone, I am linked to Neolution, and c'est la vie. We must survive under these conditions until the day Leda is finally free._

_You were the first person I met here who genuinely cared for me beyond what I am able to offer them. And I have never doubted, even in our darkest moments, that the love we share is real. I have so many feelings that I wish I could describe right now, so much still to say, but for now I hope this letter will do._

_Je t'embrasse, ta petite chiot._

 

“This woman honestly believes sprinkling in some sexy French is enough to woo me over.” Cosima chuckles to herself. “Well, she’s right.”

Delphine was gone now, presumably starting her first day at the clinic. And therein lies the dilemma: on the one hand Cosima was relieved the doctor would no longer be working on PT’s project. On the other, what value would her beloved now hold for him, other than a bargaining chip for the scientist to heed his bidding?

After breakfast, the scientist opens the door and takes in the frigid morning air. Mud was not guarding the yurt, so she decides to pay a visit to the clinic, which resembled more of a mobile trailer than a hospital.

Upon her arrival, Cosima spots Delphine waving goodbye to two patients. The scientist waves, but the doctor does not appear to see her, instead slipping a box of medicine into her jacket pocket and taking off.

Cosima breaks off into a slight run, keeping a cautious distance. Finally, she catches Delphine meeting with a suited man standing with an umbrella pointed to the ground. The doctor drops the box inside the umbrella before returning to the clinic.

Feeling somewhat guilty for her act of espionage, the scientist turns back, confused. Should she even bring the incident up, or would that just stir up more conflict and questions as to why she was spying on her friend?

Lost in thought, she almost bumps into Mud, who unexpectedly stands before her. “Here to see Dr. Cormier?”

“Not…exactly. I’ll catch you later, all right?” Cosima trudges back to the yurt. She had assured Delphine she would no longer question her motives, but what secret was her beloved keeping from her now?

 

***

 

A few days later, Cosima and Delphine are having dinner together in the yurt when a visitor knocks on the door.

“Could we spend one night together in peace? I’ll get it.” Cosima opens the door and to her surprise finds Rachel, with Francis standing by her side. “What are you doing here?”

“Is that any way to greet your sister? I’ve come to see Dr. Cormier. Alone.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll take this.” The doctor walks over, grasps the scientist’s arm, and looks her in the eye. “Trust me.”

“This isn’t about trust,” Cosima replies. “I have a right to know what’s going on. And I saw you drop this man a package a few days ago.”

“What do you mean?” Delphine asks.

“You either tell me what’s going on or tell me nothing, but don’t play coy.”

Rachel interrupts them. “I’m assisting Dr. Cormier with a project.”

“Well aren't you a saint?”

“Cosima, please,” Delphine says. “This is between us. Believe me on this. Rachel, come in. I hope you don’t mind her listening in.”

Rachel relents and orders Francis stand outside as a scout. She turns the electric fan and exhaust hood on full blast.

“It’s cold enough as it is. Why are you turning on all the fans?” Cosima turns to Delphine. “What the hell is she doing?”

“In case we’re being recorded,” the doctor explains.

“She could be putting on an act.”

Delphine offers Rachel a cup of tea, which she declines, claiming her presence is strictly business. Turning to Cosima, the corporate clone drops her voice to a whisper, “Are you aware that Mr. Westmoreland has in his possession a black book?”

“Rumored to contain all the plans, all the secrets, of Neolution. So I’ve heard.”

“Yes, and both of us are curious as to what’s concealed in its pages. It can grant us greater insight into Project Leda. Problem is, the book is on his person virtually every waking hour. Even when he rests, he hides it under his pillow.

“The one exception is when he goes for his daily swim. There’s a time of the day when he enjoys a dip at his private pool for a full twelve minutes.”

“You counted?” Cosima asks.

“I’ve been planning to access this book for the longest time. But I’ll need Dr. Cormier. Twelve minutes would not be enough time to copy all the contents of this book. I’m planning to hold a meeting with him, timed exactly after his swim. With luck, he will not think to pick up his book before then. That will buy us more time.”

“Okay, then who’s going to copy the book while you’re meeting with him and how will they do it?” Cosima asks. “Your assistant?”

“I would prefer we conduct it this way, but your girlfriend here doesn’t trust me. So she has to be the one to do it.”

“No.”

“Cosima…” Delphine insists.

“No, you’re not going to do it, you hear me? You'll get yourself killed!”

“If she has Francis do it, do you think we’ll ever get all the information in that book?” the doctor asks. “It’s all right. I have visited his residence on a regular basis. I won’t stick out.”

“It’s the only way and you know it,” Rachel adds.

“Don’t you dare drag her into this,” the scientist seethes. “If you need someone to access the book, I’ll do it. Make up whatever reason you want for me. Arrange a meeting between him and me, right after yours, if you have to. But I won’t allow Delphine to do this for you. It’s either going to be me or nothing at all.”

“I’m sorry, but who said you get to decide on my involvement?” Delphine folds her arms.

“I’m of value to him!” Cosima retorts. “Surely he will not hurt me if we’re discovered. But if he catches you betraying him, he will likely eliminate you. You cannot do this. No.”

Rachel turns to the doctor. “Look. It doesn’t matter to me who does it just as long as it gets done.” She takes out a cell phone and a key and turns to Cosima.

“If you’re doing the deed, use the camera function of this phone to take pictures of every page,” Rachel continues. “It will automatically save each file to the memory chip and the phone itself. Then take out the chip and hide the cell phone in between the book stacks. I will pick up the phone later.

“Also, this is a bump key. I believe PT locks the book in one of his drawers before his swim, and he’s too old-fashioned to concern himself over these keys. So you’ll need to open that drawer and rummage your way to the book. This is our best shot.”

“So you’re trusting me to save all the pictures on the cell phone and leave it for you,” Cosima notes. 

“There is another part of my deal with Dr. Cormier,” Rachel responds. “I’m supposed to make sure no harm comes to the lot of you Leda sisters.”

“So that’s how you keep me accountable,” Cosima says. “Everything’s give-and-take with you.”

“You can define me however you like, but all that matters now is the book,” Rachel replies. “I will have everything arranged. Meet me this Sunday by the steps to the Westmoreland Residence at eleven hundred hours sharp.”

They nod in agreement, and Rachel extends her right hand. The scientist hesitates a moment before reaching over to shake it. “I’ll see you then.”

After Rachel and Francis disappear from view, Cosima mutters, “You know we can’t trust Rachel, let alone make a deal with her. I don’t even know if this book is all some fiction they dreamt up.”

“I guess we’ll just have to see,” Delphine notes. “How else would we know?”

 

***

 

The day arrives, and Cosima checks in a full hour early to her appointment with PT. The founder takes his customary plunge in the pool. Rachel spots the scientist standing at the entrance and signals for her to follow. When they pass PT’s office by the hallway, Rachel gives her a squeeze on the arm and makes an abrupt turn.

This was it. Cosima takes a detour and enters PT’s study, which she finds strangely unlocked. She gently shuts the door behind her and examines the drawers.

The scientist makes her way past the cabinets, her heart pounding so forcefully in her chest she could hear it beating in her ears. She could hardly focus, but alas there wasn’t much time. Perhaps Delphine would have been better at this.

She walks over to PT’s desk and tugs at the top drawer. Locked. Taking a deep breath, she pulls out the bump key and slides it into the lock. This was it. Turn. Open.

Cosima jerks the drawer open and spies an assortment of trinkets: yellowed notes, ballpoint pens, a compass…She takes out a wooden box and opens it, revealing more papers and…her heart skips a beat. A worn leather book. _The black book._ She was sure of it. She carefully takes it out and opens to the first page.

There it was, all of the answers she was seeking, the gospel of Neolution itself right in front of her. Her hands quivering, Cosima opens to the first page only to find it…empty.

 _Was this some joke?_ She flips to the next page, and the next, combing through each page with her thumb. If this wasn’t the black book, she just wasted everyone’s time. She takes off her glasses, closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath to clear her racing thoughts. What was she missing?

When PT looked at the book, he was wearing sunglasses. But when he addressed the crowd, he took them off. She eyes the lamp on the desk and notices one bulb is clear and the other dark purple. She pulls on the chain, and the clear bulb illuminates. Another pull and the dark bulb glows. She turns her attention back to the book and slides the first page under the purple light. PT’s scrawls are faint but legible.

 

_September 18, 1898._

_Today it begins. The Tower of Babel will reach the heavens, and I shall cast the first brick._

 

In the moment, every part of Cosima wanted to keep reading. But there was a time and place for that. Right now, she needed to take as many pictures as she could before PT returned. She closes each curtain in order to accentuate the purple light. Then she positions each page under as much light as possible and steadies the phone for the shot. Snap. Snap. Snap.

There could have been well over two hundred pages, but as curious as she was, there was no time to read. After reaching a few blank pages in the book, she wonders if she should continue. Then she flips to the last page and turns the book upside down. The first page read: _The Leda Family._

Cosima turns the page, and instead of finding a journal entry, there is a chart of what appeared to be three or four dozen names spread across two pages.

_Krystal Goderitch. ~~Antoinette~~ Tony Sawicki. Rachel Duncan._

“The name of every Leda clone,” Cosima mutters to herself. Beneath each name, PT had penciled in the clone’s birth date, place of birth, names of parents, and if applicable, date of death. An “X” was scratched through every dead clone’s name.

It takes a moment for Cosima to realize that most of the page was littered with “X”s. _Katy McNary. Isabella Bustos. Veera Suominen._

“Oh God.” They’d all recently died, presumably murdered. “Oh God no.”

A few steps away, PT has wrapped up his meeting with Rachel early and is making his way to the study.

“There are still a few items we need to discuss,” Rachel says, loudly enough for Cosima to hear.

“There is nothing more to say," PT replies. "You are to report back to Dyad. Your work here is complete.”

But Cosima doesn’t hear a thing, her eyes flittering across the two pages, searching for survivors in the sea of Xs. Helena is alive, as is Alison and, of course, Rachel and herself. Above Rachel’s name are the initials “L.C.” which had since been crossed out with “replacement TBD.”

_C’mon Sarah where are you?!_

Finally, she realizes that Sarah’s name was positioned right next to Rachel’s all along. Instead of an X, however, Sarah’s name simply bore a question mark where a date of death might be expected. _No, she can’t be dead. There’s no X. What is this supposed to mean?_

“Miss Niehaus, where are your manners? I’m sure you know better than to touch things that don’t belong to you.”


	8. The Legacy Clone

_Only one Leda sister from our generation was designated to survive...All others are imperfections, considered failures._

 

Cosima recoils, her heart rebounding against her chest. She quickly slides the phone inside her jacket pocket, praying PT didn’t notice.

PT turns to Rachel but doesn’t seem to suspect her involvement. “Leave us.” Rachel closes the door, and the founder paces around the room, opening the curtains. “Go on, read it. Discover the identity of our designated survivor, the Legacy Clone.”

Cosima doesn’t move, her heart flush with anger. This was the man who had caused her sisters, and her love, so much pain. She glares blankly at him while chastising herself for not taking a picture of the final pages and leaving it at that. Now the entire mission was in jeopardy.

“Read it!”

She flips the page. _Cosima Niehaus – Legacy Clone._

“Is this some kind of joke?”

“I’m completely serious.”

“So all the Leda clones have been destined to die, except me. Am I supposed to feel honored?”

PT pours two cups of tea and motions Cosima to sit. “I always planned for my clones to be different from the typical human. That they would go on to become some of the finest in their fields. I envisioned Nobel laureates, CEOs, military leaders…But for the most part, they have proven to be failures. Save for Rachel, and you.

“But even I could not have predicted that one of my Ledas would one day become one of the ten greatest minds of her generation. You were, after all, the one who almost single-handedly cured your own unique, genetic disease. We can do amazing things together, you and I, traverse the great unknowns of science.”

“And all the other clones…will die?”

“For the next generation to take its place, we would certainly not want to advertise an inferior product. The Ledas have proven to be much more…difficult than we envisioned. But serve your purpose you have, as imperfect and improbable as our journey has been.” PT sets the cups of tea on a tray and places it on the round table between their chairs. “However, I do need at least one Leda to commemorate the science we have created, proof of the first step taken in the giant leap to eternal life.”

“What about Charlotte? She wasn’t on those pages.”

“Charlotte is a different case altogether. I have my plans for her, I granted her access to the cure, have I not? She may well be considered the designated survivor of her generation.”

“I wasn’t your first choice. Rachel Duncan…”

“Was the intended Legacy Clone, yes. She was the first one to be self-aware, and she was placed under the most controlled environment. But…the circumstances have shifted. She has ambition, but…that alone does not prove one’s value. I can hire a dozen Rachels. But you. There is only one Cosima Niehaus.”

“I get it. I’m docile. I’m controllable. I understand the science. And you hold a hostage over me.”

“Do not be mistaken. Dr. Cormier was invaluable, yes. Most importantly, she brought you to us. But in the end, it wasn’t her that we wanted, or Dr. Van Lier, or even the scientists you met that night. No, it was you. You will be the one to take Neolution to where we need to be. And we will become trillionaires overnight – money will be just a number.”

“And if I decline?”

“Huh.” PT scoffs, surprised to find his generous offer rebuffed. “Rachel would’ve readily agreed to that.”

“I am not Rachel. And considering that you plan to have her executed, I don’t think she’d be so keen as to follow your lead. How do you think she’d react if she knew? We’re not just some experiment, PT. We’re human beings, born with free will.”

“Do not mistake my kindness for weakness. I suggest you understand the cards you’ve been dealt before you overplay your hand.”

“I understand my hand full well. You know I cannot play an active role in your prolongevity study. And nothing is going to change my mind.” Cosima shocks even herself with the reckless courage she conveyed in those words.

PT leans back in his seat and places a finger on his chin. “You know, I find it interesting. Dr. Cormier was so willing to do whatever it took in order to shield you from harm, in order to save you. But when presented with the same question, you are not willing to do the same for her.” He flashes a sickeningly sweet smile.

“She is a good friend of mine, but there is too much at stake with this project. I cannot, I will not, participate.”

“Only friends? Nice try, Cosima, but there does appear to be a little more than just that, wouldn’t you say? You know, both of you could stay together, forever. You’d never even have to worry about losing each other to old age. You could follow all the ‘crazy science’ you always wanted…”

 _Crazy science?_ "You’ve had us bugged.”

“What? I would never.” He smiles knowingly. “Cosima, I wanted you to come into this willingly, but I’m not about to allow you make a decision you’ll regret for as long as you live. You don’t even need to help us figure out how to create the Ambrosia, we merely request your assistance maintaining it and rolling it out to market.”

“So it’s confirmed," Cosima replies. "It’s already finished. But how is that even possible? Even the one you injected on Delphine, if I understand correctly, is effective for a year at most while declining on an exponential decay curve. And now you’ve gone from a serum that lasts one year to developing one that will last forever?”

“Do you understand how many short years it took American scientists, after developing the atomic bomb, to piece together a weapon 1,000 times more powerful? The only thing that confines man to any limits…is mortality. But there are no limits that apply to me, not even death.”

“Then I wish you many prosperous years ahead. Are we finished?”

“Very well. Regardless, you are my Legacy Clone and in fact, Ambrosia already runs through your veins, which is why you are still alive.”

A chill runs down Cosima's spine. “When did this happen?”

“When I asked Dr. Ian Van Lier to perform your operation in Dr. Cormier’s place. Instead of the cure, he injected you with the Ambrosia Imperium. Did you not notice your body becoming blue for a few days? That’s because the earliest copies all contain a dye. Now look at how healthy you've become, and we haven’t even fully studied you yet.

“Now, my hope was always that you’d consent to it, but you had expressed so much doubt. Nevertheless, you will thank me for this. Children often don’t appreciate the lessons of their parents until they’ve entered into society.”

How would PT have known about her doubts if Cosima had never expressed them to him before the operation? And no, it was Rachel who had operated on her, and she had definitely injected the cure. Furthermore, the scientist had not experienced any of the symptoms of Ambrosia: the sleeplessness, the migraines…

“But he…” Cosima stops herself. Perhaps it was best PT did not know that it was Rachel, not Ian, who had operated on her. Otherwise, it would expose Rachel's loyalties and she could, in turn, expose their participation in the ruse. The scientist remembers Delphine mentioning that only Ian has clearance to administer the Ambrosia. So the serum must have found its way into Rachel’s hands after she took over from Ian.

“Two weeks from tomorrow, I plan to unveil the Ambrosia Imperium in New York. I want you to be there with me. I will give you 48 hours to mull this over, and if you should agree you will not regret this. You can live happily with Dr. Cormier for as long as you so wish. She will be safe, capable of reaching her fullest potential as a scientist, just as she had always dreamed.

“But if you refuse, you will both lose everything.” It was only a matter of time before PT revealed his true self, to rip off the veneer of benevolence, and now he stood one step away from snapping.

The decision should not have been difficult. For Delphine’s protection, Cosima would not hesitate to lay down her life. But the scientist also understood what happened when faith is invested in untrustworthy people. For someone so intent on prolonging human life, PT displayed a certain callousness towards its preservation. Even if he did make good on all of his promises, Cosima still had to consider the irrevocable harm to humanity she could cause by joining him.

“I’ll consider your kind offer,” Cosima replies, in the knowledge that Sarah would return the following night. Her sister will pull through. She had to, question mark or not. “And you are not to harm Delphine any further or force her to do anything against her will. No more dragging her away in the middle of the night or any of that business. Are we clear?”

PT smirks in response to his clone’s audacity. “You know, when Dr. Cormier first started the experiments in the basement, she would willingly offer herself up as a subject. She’d taken the Ambrosia, after all.” He takes a sip of tea. “I'd caution against overplaying your hand.”

“I am not willing to negotiate on this matter.”

“I will see to it that no harm befalls your lady love.” He stands. “Let me escort you out.”

Rachel releases her ear from the door and ducks across the hallway. She was unable to decipher much of the conversation; for all she knew, her status as the Legacy Clone remains unconfirmed.

As PT and Cosima pass, Rachel holds out her bag and the scientist casually drops the phone inside, having already removed the chip after fumbling her pockets and placing it in her boot. The scientist is searched before exiting, with the guard missing the chip.

“Think about it, the possibilities…” PT winks from the main entrance before Cosima descends the stairs. If only she had taken a picture of the Leda Sisters chart.

As Rachel grabs her suitcase and turns to leave, PT stops her. “Two nights ago, I believe you were paying a visit to Dr. Cormier’s residence. Why?”

“I have been out sick, as you are aware. She’s been treating me.”

“Did you always wear gloves indoors, Ms. Duncan? Or is this a new look?” He walks up to her. “I suggest you limit your contact with Miss Niehaus for the next few days if you know what’s good for you.”

“As you say, Mr. Westmoreland.”

 

***

 

Late that afternoon, Cosima spots Delphine walking back to the yurt after a day at the clinic. The scientist rushes out the door and wraps her arms around the doctor.

“Couldn’t wait another minute to see me?” Delphine asks with a bemused smile. “How did it go?”

“I’m going to need to write everything down,” Cosima whispers in her ear. “The yurt is bugged.”

Delphine places her hands on Cosima’s shoulders and looks her in the eye, trying to comprehend what she just said. “Everything that we said…”

“Yes. They know.”

“What if he knows about the plot today…”

“He already caught me in the act. Don’t worry, I still managed to capture the pages, most of them, anyways. Let’s head inside.”

Over sheets of paper, they correspond their knowledge.

“I understand now why Rachel turned on all the fans that night,” Cosima writes. “She knows there are recording devices everywhere. Still, it’s only a matter of time before she is implicated for betraying PT.

“I have the chip, but we wouldn’t know what was written in the book unless I can transfer it onto a device. However, the one picture I did not take is the Leda Sisters chart, which claims that Rachel is no longer the designated Legacy Clone, something that she may or may not have been aware.”

“What is a…” Delphine begins to write.

Cosima picks up the pen before the doctor finishes her question. “Only one Leda sister from our generation was designated to survive, presumably to be injected with Ambrosia. All others are imperfections, considered failures. They are mostly all dead now, save for me, Rachel, Alison, and Helena. And possibly Sarah.”

“Is she alive?”

“There was a question mark placed below her name. I am not sure.”

“Who is the Legacy Clone?”

“It was meant to be Rachel. But…” Cosima shakes her head, unable to continue writing.

“But what?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know if I can disclose this.”

“Please,” Delphine writes and looks the scientist in the eye. “We said we were going to trust each other. You can trust me.”

The scientist picks up the pen and continues. “PT changed it to me.”

The doctor nods and sighs. “Why didn’t you want me to know?”

“Because I’m fearful of the lengths you will go to ensure I am the one who survives.”

“I would want nothing more than for you to live, but I would never betray your sisters.”

Cosima changes the subject. “The Ambrosia can now grant eternal life. PT said Ian already injected me during the operation. But we know for a fact it’s Rachel who operated, and I am fairly certain I received the cure, not the Ambrosia. PT didn’t trust I’d accept it willingly.”

“So PT believes that Ian administered it to you but in reality, Rachel took his place. That must be how she ended up with the Ambrosia.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s how I’ve been blackmailing her. I know she took it, but I didn’t know it had been intended for you.”

“Rachel can’t die? When did you plan on telling me this?”

“Sometimes it’s best we not know too much. Now Rachel must have had some secret on Ian, or she’s cutting him a deal.”

“Right now, I have 2 days to decide if I want to join PT and the Neolutionist mission.”

“And…”

“I can’t do this. I’m sorry. I know this places you in danger.”

“Don’t worry about me. I wouldn’t blame you for any of this.”

“I know.” Cosima reaches over and squeezes Delphine’s hand. “Right now the rest of the Leda sisters are in danger. Sarah is supposed to return tomorrow night. I’m banking on her being alive and able to expose Neolution for what it is. I need to get this chip to her and warn them of what’s happening.”

Delphine shakes her head. “If the yurt is bugged, they will be expecting her.”

“Well shit. They would also know she visited the yurt before. But I don’t believe we ever mentioned out loud the time and place of her return. We’ll have to be careful.”

“I will support you. We cannot have you be the only one standing.”

“Thank you.”

With that, they cast their papers into the fireplace and Delphine lights a match.


	9. Adieu Mon Amour

_It’s dealing with the real world, committing to someone who is every bit as complicated and complex as you._

 

It takes them an hour, but Delphine finally discovers a recording device underneath a loose floorboard by the entrance. They agree it would arouse too much suspicion to simply disable it. So instead, if they needed to hold a confidential conversation, they would keep the device in a steel box and place it under the sink until they were finished.

After dinner, the pair decide to stash the device away for the first time. Delphine excitedly reaches into her parka, pulls out a small radio, and places it on the desk. “Confiscated this from a minder today.”

“Well…does it work?” Cosima walks over as the doctor tinkers with the contraption. “My goodness, it does. Let’s listen to the news. Maybe the other Leda sisters have already discovered something and leaked it to the press…”

“Actually, I was hoping for some classic rock,” Delphine replies, turning the dial in search of a steady signal.

“Oh my God, turn back, turn back. That’s _Bette Davis Eyes_. Anthem of my heart. This was the song that made me realize I’m gay.”

“Then we have to listen to it.”

“Dance with me. Come on! Turn it up.” Cosima swings to the rhythm.

“We don’t want startle half the camp…all right…” Delphine walks over to the scientist and attempts a more modest dance move.

“I know you can do better than that! Arms in the air. There you go.”

Cosima takes Delphine’s hands into her own and spins her partner around. In the moment, their thoughts drift away from their circumstances, the experiment, their captivity…the scientist holds the doctor’s head in her hands and moves in for a kiss before resting their foreheads together. How much time had transpired since the day they first met? After all this time, they both managed to find a way to survive, and they lean into each other in respectful acknowledgement of all they had endured together.

Cosima embraces the woman who had caused her so much hurt and deep mistrust, yet the one she knew she could never leave behind, the one who would never leave her side. Delphine holds the only person who had treated her with the love and compassion she required. They would either make it to the end together or they would leave with nothing at all.

 

A few hours later, they wake up beside each other on the bed. Delphine reaches over and grasps Cosima’s hand.

“You’re crying?” Cosima asks. “Was it something I said?” They laugh and Delphine lets out a sigh.

“ _Chérie_ , let’s get married.”

Cosima pauses, unsure of the right way to respond. “Well aren’t you a persistent puppy? You sure know how to cut to the chase.”

“Meaning?”

“You get straight to the point. Look. I really, really want to be with you. It’s just…right now, there’s so much uncertainty. Marriage is much more than the passion and the crazy love. It’s dealing with the real world, committing to someone who is every bit as complicated and complex as you.”

“It’s also beautiful, is it not?”

“It’s not the movies. There are still a lot of questions we need to answer, aspects of our personalities we need to discover and reconcile. Where will we live? If you came with me to California, could you assimilate? Do we want to have kids, or pets? And on top of that, our issues are not the ones most couples face.

“These aren’t romantic questions but if we want a love that lasts, we need to consider them. Marriage is not stuffing clay into the cracks of a boat and then demanding it set sail in order to save the voyage. It’s a celebration, an affirmation of the ship we’ve built together. I know this, because I see it in my parents.”

“Do you miss them?”

“Every day," Cosima replies. "I haven’t called them in months. But when it’s all over, I really want to go home. And I’m taking you with me. They would love you as their own daughter, I’m sure. How are your folks?”

“My parents? They did not have a happy relationship. My father was absent, and my mother and I…we don’t talk anymore. But I always envisioned marriage as something pure and beautiful…”

“It can be. It requires sacrifice. Which I know we are willing to make.”

“But to my question, is that a no?” Delphine frowns.

“It’s not a no. It’s a not yet. We still have much to discover about each other, and we’re getting there. I want to be there with you.”

“Then I will wait for your answer.”

The scientist grins. “You know…if we have a wedding, who we should totally invite? Shay.” 

The doctor laughs. “I see you’ve kept your cheeky sense of humor.”

“I think Shay once told me she’s a pro in the art of floral arrangements.”

“ _Bonsoir_ , Cosima.”

“Why not? I mean, sure it’d be kind of awkward when people ask how you two know each other and all but…all right. Rest well, my love.”

 

***

 

The following night, the pair huddle up inside the yurt, finalizing their plans to meet Sarah.

“You’ve got to be joking,” Cosima looks outside, where a few drops of rain had swiftly given way to a downpour.

Delphine leans over and whispers in her beloved's ear, “Maybe there will be fewer guards out tonight.”

A visitor knocks on the door, and the scientist opens it to find Mud shivering under an umbrella.

“Hey kid, what’s up?”

“The name is Mud. I wanted to ask…if I could join you two for dinner as opposed to…sitting outside in the rain?”

Cosima glances back to Delphine to check if it was acceptable with her, and the doctor shoots a look of _what else can we do?_

“Depends. How long are you planning to stay?” Cosima asks.

“What she means is, you are certainly welcome tonight,” Delphine interjects to Mud’s delight.

 _Well what do we do now?_ Cosima looks to Delphine, who understands her predicament. The doctor walks over and whispers, “She may have been sent here for a reason. I’ll take care of it, don’t worry.”

Minder or not, Mud was just a teenage girl, after all, and perhaps acting against her own will. They had been kind to her, occasionally offering food and blankets when they bumped into her on the way out of the yurt. But they had not expected to have her over for dinner, and certainly not on one of the most critical nights of their stay. _Might as well make the best of it._

“Hope you have a healthy spice tolerance,” Cosima warns, whipping up a plate of her special curry.

“Would you like some milk?” Delphine offers. “It’ll help with the spice.” Mud nods.

As Cosima regales Mud with an anecdote of the time she nearly burned down a kitchen, she notices Delphine walking over to the medical cabinet. She considers speaking up, to say that this wouldn’t be right, but decides against exposing her friend. The doctor pours a cup of milk and snaps open a sleeping pill, depositing its contents before adding a spoonful of sugar.

Cosima nervously eyes the clock, but the rain refuses to relent as their minder displays every interest in staying.

“You don’t need to answer if you’re not comfortable but…where is your family?” Cosima asks over dinner.

“What does it matter to you?” Mud snaps. “You probably both have parents who are worried about you. You have people who would cry and miss you if you’re gone. I have nothing.” Silence.

Delphine shoots Mud a stern look. However, Cosima reaches over and places a sympathetic hand on the teen’s shoulder, forgetting the minder’s job is to report on them. “Hey. You know, this may be hard to believe now, but when I was a kid I was a bit of a rebel.”

“So what has changed?” Delphine asks.

“Anyways, I was always mouthing off to my parents,” the scientist continues. “They didn’t understand me, and I didn’t think they ever cared. Then one day, I committed that quintessential teenage act of rebellion. I ran away from home.”

Mud looks up at Delphine, as if to ask if Cosima was serious.

“What? This is the first time I’m learning about it too,” Delphine says.

“I was at the bus stop when this lady sat next to me, listened to me, and talked me out of it,” the scientist continues. “But at that moment, I was so mad, I seriously wanted to get out of there. It was the most difficult, most impossible thing for me to swallow my pride and head on home. I had to believe that somewhere down in their hearts, my parents actually gave a damn.”

“Did they want you back?” Mud asks.

“At first they didn’t say anything, and I just holed up in my room. Then my mom came in, and she didn’t offer any judgment. And she gave me this…” Cosima opens a drawer, takes out a thin gold ring tied to a silver chain, and presents it to Mud. “This was her mother’s ring. She told me that sometimes she may raise her voice, sometimes she may seem unreasonable, but to just have faith, that she will always love me.”

Mud remains silent as the scientist continues, “When I see this ring, I keep in mind that somewhere out there, my parents still love me. They never hid the fact that I wasn't biologically theirs, but to be honest, they never loved me any less because of it. Even now, sometimes I need to assure myself that I have worth no matter what others think. I wake up every day believing that I have something to offer and I have value. And so do you. I believe in you, Mud, and I want you to have this.”

Cosima opens Mud’s palm and places the ring in her hand. “No, you don’t need to do this in order to prove a point,” the minder protests.

“I’m not doing this out of pity. But I want you to know that you are someone who is worth living and dying for. You still have your whole life ahead of you to experience, to love and be loved. You have to be the strongest person for yourself, but never be too proud to reject love and assistance when it’s offered.

“I don’t know what happened between you and your family, and I’m not going to pretend our journeys are the same. But don’t ever let anyone make you believe you aren’t worthy of being loved.”

Mud begins to cry, and Cosima wraps her in a hug. “It’ll be all right. I’m right here.”

 

It takes a few cups of milk before Mud finally succumbs to the drug’s effect and slumps over the table. Getting straight to business, Delphine checks Mud’s breathing before carrying her over to their bed.

“What did…” Cosima mutters.

Delphine places a finger to her lips. _Right, we’re being recorded._ Together, they move the recording device to the box underneath the sink.

“Is she going to be okay? How could you…”

“She’ll be fine,” Delphine opens Mud’s backpack. “This is a war we are fighting. What choice would I have, placing Sarah in danger waiting for us while guards patrol the forest?”

“The ends don’t always justify the means. In fact, they often don’t,” Cosima sighs but gives in. There wasn’t much time. She takes out a piece of gum and pops it in her mouth. “Is there anything she has of use? Her flashlight?”

“We won’t be able to use it. Would attract too much attention.”

“So how are we going to navigate? Her compass?”

“We can take the umbrella too.”

Cosima picks up the memory chip, covers it in a small piece of film, and spits out the piece of gum.

“What are you doing?”

“If needed, I’m swallowing this.” The scientist plops the gum back into her mouth.

As arranged, Cosima and Delphine sneak out of the yurt, trudge their way through the forest, and lie in wait by the harbor. Finally, they make out the faint shape of a small boat illuminated by the flickering glow of a dim lantern.

“It’s her, I know it.” Cosima hands the umbrella to Delphine. “I’ll handle this. Keep watch.”

“Be careful!”

Cosima waits for Sarah to make her way on solid land before she turns up. “You made it.” She rushes over and gives her sister a hug. They head inside the boat to swap information.

“Did you give Alison the cure?”

“Not yet, Cos. It’s with Scott now. He’s still studying it. Who knows how many copies he’ll need.”

“That shouldn’t be an issue, it’s pretty much just us left,” Cosima replies, more glibly than she intended.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the Leda sisters, they’re almost all dead, including M.K.”

“Wait, how did you know that? I thought you were isolated?”

Cosima explains how she came across the black book, the Ambrosia, and PT’s offer.

“No kidding, we’re the only ones left?” Sarah says. “And you’re supposed to be the one who lives? Rachel will blow a gasket when she finds out she’s been swapped.”

“It may not end up mattering, because she appears to have eternal life now.”

“What?!”

“She injected the Ambrosia intended for me. Once PT finds out, he may either execute her whatever way he can or decide he’d might as well swap her back as the Legacy Clone.”

Cosima separates the memory chip from the gum and hands it to Sarah. “You don’t have much time. In two weeks, PT will be in New York unveiling the Ambrosia Imperium. You have to expose Neolution for what it is before he takes the stage, because if you don’t preempt him, he’ll control the narrative. The media, everyone will go wild with their imaginations, and your exposé won’t make front page news.”

“Two weeks? What kind of miracle worker do you think I am?”

Cosima ignores her. “How many people can fit inside this boat?”

“Maybe one more tops. Cos, you know you can’t work for Neolution. Come with me.”

“Sarah, I need to stay, for Charlotte. I’m going to tell PT I accept his offer. And then I’m going to delay his project however I am able until you come and rescue me, rescue all of us.”

“Exactly how fast do you expect me to work my magic?”

“If you send the contents of that chip to the right people, I think it can be pretty darn fast.”

“You don’t even know what was written inside.”

“Sarah, if PT knows that I escaped with the knowledge of the black book…”

“I was afraid you’d be stubborn. Take this.” Sarah hands her a cell phone and removes the battery. “It’s Kira’s. If you need to use it, just plug the power source back.”

“Thank you. Look. I need you to do one more thing for me. Take Delphine with you.”

“I came for information, not French monitors.”

“She will only distract me here. They will use her to force me to work for them. Please.”

“What will they do to you if they find out you helped her escape?”

“Let me deal with the consequences.” Cosima leaves and returns a minute later with Delphine.

“Sarah,” the doctor wraps her in a hug. “It’s been so long. We didn’t even know if you were alive…”

“Yes, long story. I need to head back soon, so…it’s time for us to go.”

Delphine takes a step back, furrowing her brow. “Go where?”

“You can’t stay here,” Cosima says. “I alone must remain.”

“When did you decide to do this? Was this why you agreed to have me come out with you? What happened to trust?”

“Delphine, please if there is one thing I will ever ask of you…”

“We stay together or we leave together. I won’t leave you again.”

“Don’t mean to interrupt, but will you two make up your minds?” Sarah asks.

“You aren’t leaving me,” Cosima insists and hands Delphine a folded letter. “But I need you to do this. It’s the only way to ensure I get the job done. You needed my trust, and you have it. Can you please believe me on this as well?” She turns around to leave before Delphine can see her cry.

“Wait.” Delphine reaches over and pulls the scientist in for a kiss. “This isn’t goodbye. Cosima, do whatever you must to stay alive. Wait for me and do not die.”

“I will. Promise me the same.” The doctor nods. “Sarah gave me a phone so I can still communicate with you through her.”

“Okay. Remember…this is the only place on the island with reception. Get as close to the southern shore as you can when you call.”

Cosima agrees and after a parting kiss, she turns to Sarah. “Look after her.”

“Great, then who will take care of me?” Cosima crosses her arms. “Got it, Cos.”

Delphine jots down a note for Cosima and holds her one last time, whispering “follow the crazy science.” She then lifts herself onto the boat and helps Sarah start up the motor. The scientist stands at the edge of the coast, locking eyes with the doctor until the boat disappears from view.

Cosima wipes away her tears, finally feeling her skin chafe under the frigid chill of the night air. Slowly, she forces her way back to the yurt, her body straining with each step. _Need to press on. I promised to stay alive._

 

When Cosima finally returns, she is relieved to find Mud still asleep. She gently nudges the minder, softly calling her name until she sits upright.

“I’m sorry, did I really fall asleep?” Mud asks.

“Yes, and it just stopped raining so you can head home now.”

Mud nods apologetically and leaves, her mind still half-asleep.

With her body drained of energy, Cosima struggles to hoist the kindling and feed it to the fire. She leaves Delphine’s note on the table as something to look forward to reading in the morning. With the last of her strength, pulls herself onto the bed. She hadn’t been feeling herself lately, constantly tired and feverish, while attempting to appear invigorated so as to not worry her love.

Cosima drifts off to sleep soon after and finds herself lost in the middle of the forest. “…Cosima.” A distinct French accent calls out. _Delphine? Why is she still here?_

She begins to run, searching for the source of the voice, which is muttering something undecipherable.

In an instant, the scientist is knocked over, losing consciousness for a few seconds before realizing something is pinning her down. Whether it was an animal, a human, or a force of nature she did not know. She couldn’t breathe, her body seizing in panic and pure agony. Only then do the words come into focus. “You’re slipping away. Wake up. Wake up!”

Cosima bolts upright from the bed and retches onto the floor below. She reaches over to turn on the lamp, puts on her glasses, and glances down at the dark blotch on the ground.

_Blood. That’s odd._


	10. The Head of the Snake

_I preferred to have them as a set, but this will have to do for now._

 

Rachel sits in her office at the Dyad Institute, scrolling through photographs of the black book’s pages with an encrypted laptop.

_What’s something I didn’t know already?_

She places a finger on her lips and thinks back to the moment when she was young, when her adopted mother Susan Duncan first told her about the cloning program.

 

“So what about it? Doubt you’re not anything special now?” Susan had asked her.

“You mean that there’s more of me? Who look just like me. Like twins.”

“Yes. You are going to be a part of something more powerful than anyone in the world will ever know.”

“What’s so great about having so many Rachels in the world?”

“For now you may not be the only one, but you will be. Should the others fail to meet his expectations, the founder intends to keep only one. And that special person has already been designated. You.”

“What will happen to the others?”

“I’m not sure, love, but the founder has a place for them.”

“What if he changes his mind? What if he meets me and thinks I’m not special and finds someone else to keep around?”

“No love, so long as I am here I will see to it this does not happen. He can be unpredictable at times but no. In any case you are the only one he permits with the secret of the experiment.”

“How can you be certain? Unless…the others die. Then he has no choice but to keep me.”

Susan flashed a look of horror and then calms herself. Rachel had always been a little different than the other girls, even the other clones, based on their monitors’ reports. But she was brilliant and she recognized, even at her young age, how the world operated.

“This isn’t even something to worry about at this moment," Susan finally replied. "The founder has a grand experiment he’s working on, and that may still take decades. Until then, he may not even carry out the final step.”

 

In present time, Rachel pores over the last page of the black book and shuts her laptop. There was nothing on the Legacy Clone, only that one would be chosen. She could only hope she remains PT’s designee, but given his recent suspicions, that possibility may be drifting away with each passing day.

She couldn’t die, as the Ambrosia must have made its way completely through her system by now. But she’d best not risk having PT’s men harm her in any way. The only way to ensure her survival would mean her sisters’ deaths.

Rachel opens a drawer and pulls out a vial of red serum. The day of Cosima’s operation, while the scientist was focused on Delphine taking Charlotte away, the corporate clone had emptied most of the serum and placed it into this vial. The dosage she delivered could sustain the scientist for weeks, but it was not nearly enough to make the effects permanent.

If Cosima must die, it was best it happen gradually, allowing Rachel to finish her job of taking over Neolution without arousing PT’s suspicions. But it would only be a matter of time before Ian cracks and gives her in, confessing he had agreed to swap roles with Rachel while correctly admitting he did not know her reasoning. But if Ian should break, how should he die: forcing him to commit suicide by threatening his family or ordering her guards to murder him and dispose of the body?

Rachel picks up her phone and scans over a text from Francis, confirming a motorcade has been booked to ferry PT away to New York. The founder distrusted planes, so this would be the only means of transport.

Suddenly, her phone vibrates and Rachel rolls her eyes at the caller ID. It’s Ferdinand, the impish cleaner from Topside with several clone assassinations under his belt. “Rachel Duncan speaking.”

“Rachel, what’s going on? Mr. Westmoreland is ordering me to finish off the rest of the clones before he steps foot in New York, save for you and Miss Niehaus. Why isn’t she on the list? Is it because he intends to have someone else on the island finish her off?”

“Don’t worry about her. It’ll be taken care of.”

“He didn’t ask for me to exterminate you. I made sure of it.”

“He knows, Ferdinand. He suspects our relationship and congratulations, by making that request you’ve just confirmed it. There is no way he would ask you to kill me.”

A pause on the other end. “He needs you, Rachel. Nobody understands Neolution and the gears that put everything together better than you. You are the head of the snake. He wouldn’t kill you. And when we finish him…”

“Would you watch where you are speaking? He has his loyalists, his factions. I have some of their names, but not all of them. We won’t be able to purge them all before he dies. If they suspect I’m not the Legacy Clone…it will greatly weaken my legitimacy. The only way is to ensure I’m the last of the Ledas.”

“Then allow me finish her.”

“No. Cosima must stay alive long enough to accompany PT at the start of the trip. However, during our jaunt, the founder may suffer an accident…”

Ferdinand smiles. “The press conference will begin on a somber note, with you stepping in to save the day and carry on his legacy. And the Board of Dyad would surely reward you for stepping in on such short notice. Leave it to me to take care of the loyalists.”

Rachel ends the call. Just because the founder may soon meet his demise did not warrant the other Leda sisters’ survival. Cosima may be too sick to continue onward. Sarah and Helena would be eliminated, survived only by their miraculous children, who would live out the rest of their days as specimens in the lab.

The corporate clone pockets the cure and walks to the ladies room. She had no need for its contents – the Ambrosia would take care of her. She could spare a few more drops to Cosima, but surely Ian had his methods for prolonging her life until then. Rachel opens the vial and pours the cure down the drain, diluting the fluid with running water. Best not to take any chances.

 

***

 

Daylight. Cosima awakens to a loud banging on the door and forces herself up, a task growing more difficult by the day. She finds Mud standing outside.

“Where is Dr. Cormier?” Mud asks. The very question Cosima was hoping to avoid.

“At the clinic, is she not?”

“She didn't report in this morning.”

“Well, she’s not here either.”

Mud forces herself into the yurt. The vulnerable teenager from the night before had given way to the serious minder. “What’s that?” She points to the blood on the floor. “It wasn’t there last night.”

“I've been feeling under the weather. Listen, if she’s not at the clinic, your guess is as good as mine.”

Mud peers over the table and picks up a folded piece of paper.

“Wait, that’s –”

“ _I am leaving. Don’t look for me_ ,” Mud reads. “Did she leave this for you?”

“Give me that.” Cosima takes the note from her. She had been hoping for a love letter, but this was smart. “My God. She’s gone.”

“If anyone leaves, it’s their family that must account for them, you know that?”

Suddenly, the Messenger appears at the door. “Mr. Westmoreland is expecting your answer today.”

“Delphine is gone,” Mud chimes in, handing the Messenger the note.

“Oh, isn’t that interesting?” He turns to the scientist. “You’re coming with me.”

 

The Messenger drags Cosima to his office, a sparsely furnished room with a lone light bulb on the roof. The scientist is too weak to offer much protest as he ties her to a chair.

“Tell me, where is Dr. Cormier?”

“To be completely honest with you, I have no idea where she is right now.”

“The day before you are expected to make your decision, she just happens to take off without you knowing? What kind of fool do you take me as? Now, we can make this easy or…” He leaves, turns on the faucet, and returns with a bucket of water and a cloth.

“Really? You’re going to waterboard me?”

“Don’t worry, you won’t die. I know you can’t.”

“What would PT do when he finds out you’re harming his Legacy Clone?”

“I think that should be the least of your worries. You and Dr. Cormier are to work on completing Project Ambrosia, are we clear?”

“Have you ever been in a state where you realize you could slip away to the other side, just like that?”

“You’re delirious. And no, I haven’t.”

“Well I have. I know what it’s like to stand at the cusp of death with your knees buckling. It feels a lot like what I’m feeling right now.” Cosima’s head reclines back, her mind flitting in and out of consciousness.

“You’re not fooling anyone. Come to!”

The scientist’s head snaps back and her body begins to shake violently. It isn’t until she starts coughing up blood that the Messenger realizes she wasn’t joking around.

 

***

 

“She is a more valuable asset than you will ever be! You are dismissed!”

Slowly, Cosima opens her eyes, making out the outline of the mobile clinic. Dr. Ian Van Lier sits down beside her and places his phone on speakerphone. _That’s odd, there isn’t supposed to be any reception…_

“Miss Niehaus,” PT speaks through the phone. “I figured the Ambrosia would have fixed everything.”

“It has. The thought of being tortured, that was all…”

“I need answers, Cosima.”

“I don’t know where Delphine is and that’s a fact.”

“I could care less if you knew. She has completed her service. All that matters are your plans, where you intend to go from here.”

“You promise I would have all the resources I need, choose my own staff…”

“Everything.”

“Very well, then. How can I refuse your generosity?”

“I knew you would. I will have your authorizations prepared and you are to begin tomorrow morning. Should the Ambrosia happen to be wearing out, I will soon have more than enough to spare…And one more thing. Last time when Dr. Cormier nearly died, I was able to locate her. I can just as easily find her again. Now, Ian, a word in private.”

Ian takes the call off speakerphone and steps outside.

“I preferred to have them as a set, but this will have to do for now,” PT tells him. “Watch over her. Her heart will be in this, but it may take time. Make sure she accepts the science. I also want a battery of tests on her, to test if the Ambrosia has taken hold.”

“Of course, Mr. Westmoreland.” Ian ends the call and returns to the clinic.

“He doesn’t know, does he?” Cosima asks. “Your deal with Rachel. That the Ambrosia actually ended up in her hands and I didn’t receive the cure, which is why I’m dying.”

“Don’t discuss matters you know nothing about…”

“You have nothing to worry about from me. I have no interest in letting anyone know. But she fell from his good graces, didn’t she? And now she needs to plot a coup before he finds out, preferably before New York.”

“For someone so smart, I’m surprised at how little you know how to play the game,” Ian retorts. “Dr. Cormier would not have made the same mistake. She would’ve gone along.”

“You saved her life, and I'm grateful for it. Right now, I don’t want to go along with PT’s experiments and inject the Ambrosia. And you need to keep me alive to show PT you’re still on his side, but you don’t want me to expose your deal with Rachel. We can work together.”

“You’re becoming sicker and there’s no cure left for you,” Ian replies. “Now, I can keep you alive for as long as I am able, but alas, you're well aware of the circumstances we are now in. However, Rachel has a plan for you.”

“Tell me what needs to be done.”

 

***

 

Soon after Cosima is cleared and returns to the yurt, Charlotte stops by for a visit. They open up the loose floorboard and remove the recording device.

“Are you okay?” Charlotte asks, placing a hand on the scientist’s forehead. “Mud told me you were sick.”

“Don’t trust that girl, you hear me?" Cosima says. "Listen, don’t freak out. When Rachel was supposed to give me the cure, I think Delphine gave it to you properly but…somehow Rachel did not. I am sick…again.”

Charlotte recoils at the news but quickly puts on a brave face. “Are there any other cures?”

“No. Not that I know of, besides the vial I gave to Sarah. But I don’t know when she will return. Hopefully soon. And even then I am still missing the other half of the cell lines.”

“How can I reach her?”

“You are not going to reach her. It’s too dangerous. We’re going to wait.”

“How long can you still wait? What am I supposed to do when you’re not here anymore?”

Cosima sighs. “Everything here is monitored. And we can’t trust anyone else, including Rachel.”

“PT likes you, doesn’t he? That’s what Mud says. Tell him to let you call her.”

“No. No. He thinks I took his serum. And for now, I want to keep it this way.”

“You don’t need to hide things from me just because you think I’m a little girl. I want to help.”

“Well, I’ve got a phone to call Sarah. Let’s go for a walk, along the southern side of the island. That’s the only area with reception.”

“All outside travel must be authorized.”

“Then let’s authorize it.”

 

Cosima and Charlotte head to the Messenger’s office, now manned by his replacement, and request permission to go for a walk through the forest. Their request is granted on the condition that a minder follow them.

“Miss Niehaus, our resident celebrity,” their minder sneers. “And what exactly have you accomplished since you arrived?”

“Please. My sister and I…we just…”

“A simple walk in the woods for some air following a rainstorm, of course. You’re lucky the founder has his eye on you. Wouldn’t want to jeopardize that, now would you?”

Once they enter the southern side of the island, Cosima knows she must be careful. She had perhaps one chance at best, and if the moment is chosen incorrectly and there is no reception, that was it. On top of that, she finds even a little walking to be exhausting but soldiers on.

Finally, after reaching a wooded area a considerable distance from camp, Cosima plugs the battery into Kira’s phone and turns it on. She informs her minder she needs to do her business.

“It can’t wait?” The minder reluctantly consents and spies her walking through the shrubbery. “Don’t head off too far! I should still be able to see your head.”

“A wasp!” Charlotte suddenly calls out and takes off running, forcing the minder to break his focus. “Hey! Come back!”

Her hands shaking, Cosima swipes through Kira’s contacts and dials Sarah’s number. There wasn’t much battery life left. This was it. She closes her eyes, her head dizzying. _Stay alive! Wait for me and do not die._ She had promised her.

_C’mon pick up Sarah._

“The voicemail box has not been set up yet.”

 _Damn you._ Cosima couldn’t give up now. She calls again.

"Cos?” A British accent asks. “You’re checking in already? I’ll have you know I’m moving as fast as I can. I have meetings today with five reporters and this hot shot lawyer friend of Alison’s. Hang in there.”

“You just straight up told me all this not knowing if it’s actually me, if I’m being forced at gunpoint to reach you, or if this call is being recorded?”

“Okay, well are you?”

“No, but would I be in a position where I can say yes?”

“Fair enough. I’m doing what I can right now. Just wait for me…”

“I’m dying. Rachel must have done something…I need the cure right away.”

“Jesus.”

“Has Scott finished sequencing it?”

“That’s the least of your worries. I’ll have it sent to you right away.”

“No, Sarah, you can’t. What about Alison?”

“She’s not showing any symptoms. Look, I’m 100 percent sure she’ll understand. We’ll find some way to create a new cure for her.”

“Even so, how will you get it to me? The Neos are launching their new product soon and security here is only going to get tighter. And you’re needed back home to expose them.”

“Can you stop with these considerations for just a moment? We will have the cure for you one way or another.”

“Just…bury it. By the shoreline where we last met. I’ll find it and use it myself. Don’t come here.”

Cosima turns off the phone, pulls out the battery, and drops the device on the ground just as the minder appears, with his right hand clenched around Charlotte’s hair.

“So you only wanted to come out for some fresh air, Miss Niehaus?” The minder snarls. “It probably needs no reminding that the founder is at the very edge of his patience. If I find out you were up to anything here, you’re finished. Done.”


	11. The French Doctor

_I couldn’t be prouder of loving someone who has always acted to protect me._

 

“Cosima is dying? When did she call you? Let me speak to her.”

“The line heads straight to voicemail. It’s dead.”

Delphine and Sarah are inside Mrs. S’s living room, with the French doctor pacing about frantically.

“You should have told me.”

“I was driving to the _Times_ , conjuring up ways to present my evidence without having reporters laugh in my face!” Sarah runs her hand through her hair. “Listen. I have enough on my plate right now…”

“I should have never trusted Rachel. Maybe she knew Cosima was the Legacy Clone. That’s why she wants her dead. And Cosima only gave you one half of the cell lines. The other half…I held onto some of it, but it’s hidden inside the yurt.”

“Does Cosima know?”

Delphine shakes her head.

Sarah crosses her arms. “Do you two tell each other anything?”

“It is safer not to reveal more information than necessary. There is the possibility the recipient will be interrogated later.”

“Can we focus on how we’re going to get the cure to Cosima? Because I called Scott and he kept her cell line in a safety deposit box and has to jump through a few hoops to get it.”

“Oh, Scott…”

“He said he’ll bring it over first thing in the morning after the bank opens. In any case, I don’t think I can just prance on by Neolution Island anymore.”

“Definitely not. You are still on their hit list.”

“Well who do you bloody propose will save her?” She looks up at the French doctor. “No.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Don’t even think about it. You are not returning to the island. I made Cosima a promise.”

“You can keep your promise. But your agreement does not bind me.”

“You told her you would stay alive.”

“Sarah, you are almost done exposing Neolution for what it is. But I don’t know if Cosima can wait another day, and I can’t take that chance.”

“I’ll send Felix.”

“You’re willing to risk your own brother? He does not know the area as I do. And you’ll still need someone who knows how to combine the two cell lines, which as far as I know, only I have done it. So I’m sorry, but you’re either going to help me return to that island or I’ll do it myself.”

Sarah throws up her arms. “You’re a real arse, you know that?”

“And you’ve been keeping me under house arrest without due cause.”

“Fair enough.”

 

***

 

The next night, Sarah and Felix see Delphine off as she boards a boat back to Camp Revival.

“We’ve had our differences, Delphine,” Sarah says. “You were the first one who blew my cover, after all, but…we wouldn’t be where we are now without you. I’m…proud to have known you.”

“This isn’t the end,” the doctor replies. “I’m coming back. And…I’m proud to have met you as well, Sarah.”

“With luck, this will all be over soon. And I never got to, you know, say thanks. For putting your life on the line time and again for us, even when none of us trusted you.”

“To be honest, we kind of thought you were a dodgy twit,” Felix adds, prompting a punch in the arm from Sarah. “What?!”

“Do you trust me now?” Delphine asks.

Sarah smiles. “On my life.” She pats her on the shoulder. “Go save our geek monkey.”

 

***

 

Meanwhile, Cosima wraps up a long night in the lab, astounded by what she had seen. Dr. Ian Van Lier had told her everything, how far the Ambrosia had advanced since its early stages when only PT could harness the prototype’s life-sustaining potential. Afterward, she is forced to surrender a blood and urine sample to analyze the effects of the Ambrosia, knowing full well that Ian would likely tamper with the results.

By now Cosima is chronically lightheaded and could hardly stand up straight. She almost falls over when Charlotte opens the door of the yurt.

Charlotte had left the children’s quarters to come to live with her after Delphine left. With all her strength, the young clone carries Cosima to the bed.

“I think you’re going to need a doctor,” Charlotte notes.

“No. I’ll be fine. We can’t trust anyone here. Sarah will find a way to get me that cure. She’ll make it. She always does.”

Suddenly, the scientist experiences a sharp white pain strike her brain, and she groans in uncontrollable agony. A deep sweat breaks out across her face. “No! No!”

“What’s happening?” Charlotte holds Cosima’s hands, and the scientist digs her nails into the young clone's skin.

 

“Cosima. Cosima, wake up. Wake up, please.”

The scientist comes to, and Charlotte’s face slowly comes into focus. “What happened? What time is it?” She puts on her glasses.

“It’s close to midnight. You passed out from the pain.”

“That pain. I wanted to bite my tongue off it was so terrible. Augh.” Cosima sits up, hacking uncontrollably, and Charlotte positions a bucket below her chin just in time for another round of vomiting. More blood.

“This splitting headache,” the scientist holds her head, attempting to silence her ringing ears, and then notices two minders standing next to Charlotte.

“When did…” The recording device…they hadn’t hidden it. They must have known she wasn’t well. The minders lift Cosima up and ignore Charlotte’s questioning of where they were heading.

Just as the scientist is ushered out the door, she blacks out again. She awakens to find herself lying inside the bunker, on the exact operating table where weeks earlier Rachel had performed her operation. Beside her, Ian has just finished hooking her up to an infusion pump.

“Close your eyes, Miss Niehaus. Rest…”

 

***

 

A few hours later, Delphine arrives on the island. Sarah had told her that if it was too risky, to just hide the cell line underneath the sands of the shore. But no, she had to be present, to be the one to put the cure together and administer it to Cosima.

Delphine knew she should have rested on the boat, but her fluttering heart forbid her from falling asleep. _Hang in there, just a little longer, mon amour._ She zips up a small duffel bag containing the cell line and medical supplies before stringing the package over her back. It was time.

After anchoring the boat, the doctor pulls out a compass and slips into the forest. But just a few minutes into her journey across solid land, she recoils at the ominous growl of dogs barking in the distance. She had been spotted. It’s over.

Delphine makes a split second decision to sprint back to the boat, with the guard dogs hot in pursuit. There was enough time, she estimates, to start the motor and take off. But then the entire venture would have been in vain…

The doctor scans the shore and debates burying the cure in the sand. No, it could be too difficult to pinpoint the package. She jumps aboard the boat and opens a crate, hiding the duffel bag and her cell phone under the life vests. She frantically pushes the box to a corner and stacks several containers over it.

Two guards jump aboard the ship, shining a light on Delphine’s back.

“Not so fast! Don’t move or we shoot!”

Delphine holds up her hands and slowly turns around in surrender.

“Well look who’s returned.” The guards radio for backup. They search the doctor before dragging her through the forest. When backup arrives, Delphine winces at the sight of Rachel, with Francis and two bodyguards by her side, their presence illuminated by lanterns.

“We’ll take it from here, thank you,” the corporate clone announces.

Rachel’s bodyguards force Delphine to kneel and tie her hands together. The doctor is relieved not to come across PT following her defection, but at the same time her prospects under Rachel did not offer much of an improvement.

“Dr. Cormier, we’ve missed you,” Rachel beams. “It’s adorable how willing you are to return after your treasonous defection.”

“Cosima…she doesn’t have much time,” Delphine replies. “Unless it was your intent to kill her.”

“Not kill,” Rachel replies in her usual, deceptively calm tone. “I wouldn’t need to take it that far for her to die. Now tell me, are there any pages in the black book that Cosima was not upfront about?”

“I think she would have to be alive in order for you to ask her, would she not?”

Rachel smirks. “You know, Dyad has had its share of ineffective monitors throughout the history of Project Leda. But of them all, you were the very worst. Naïve, foolish…You couldn’t even get your allegiances straight half the time.”

Delphine, confident in where her loyalties lie, refuses to be cowed. “Why would you openly defy PT’s grand vision, the very science you once appeared so eager to accept?”

“Mr. Westmoreland doesn’t understand the half of it! He has no patience for the science. He merely has the will and the drive. He is the master manipulator. I am the one who operates this ship, and I alone am the one who must finish it.”

Delphine begins to doubt her operation’s success, wondering why Rachel would suddenly be so open about her motives. “And what good does it do you to let Cosima die?”

“And what good does it do me to let you live? Go on, I know you want to tell Mr. Westmoreland everything, just as you have in the past. You had your chance, to keep your distance from Project Leda. But you jumped at every chance you had to involve yourself further with Neolution. And now you’re heading down the path of past monitors who didn’t understand their place.”

“I love her. I always have and always will.”

“The researcher must never grow too emotionally attached to the subject. Surely you know better than to taint your study. If your aim was to fall in love, you could have any Leda clone you want! Sarah, Helena, take your pick! They virtually come from the same DNA.”

“Cosima is not replaceable. There will never be another one of her. You’ll never be able to recreate it. And you know only one of the Ledas will live, do you not? You’re afraid it’s not you.”

“This does not concern you.” Rachel signals to a bodyguard, who takes off his scarf and ties it around Delphine’s mouth, ensuring she wouldn’t talk back. The doctor had already spoken too much for Rachel’s liking in front of them.

“You know, after Sarah and my mother, you were the one I detested most,” Rachel continues. “In a sense, I can forgive Sarah for her ignorance. She views this as a fight to protect her daughter. But we offered you everything, the world at your fingertips, and you spat in our faces.

"I have never forgiven you. The way you tortured my eye. Paraded Dyad secrets to Sarah. Betrayed the very core of all we stood for. You helped me access the book, and that’s all that matters.”

Rachel motions for Francis to hand over her smartphone. “You’re going to thank me for this act of mercy. It’s easier to get over someone if you know they betrayed you.” She dials Ian’s number and berates him for taking too long to answer.

“Is Cosima with you? Is she awake? Good. I wish to speak to her. Hello, it’s Rachel Duncan.” She places the call on speakerphone for Delphine to hear.

From the other line, Cosima remains light-headed and under the influence of Ian’s medications. “It’s late, Rachel. What could be so important…”

“I happen to believe this is very important. You see, I recently discovered a few previously classified documents.” Rachel scrolls through her phone and loads the files. “It concerns our friend, Dr. Cormier. As you know, she was employed as a monitor at the Dyad Institute. Would you care to guess for how long?”

“I presume until I discovered she had lied to me, about knowing Leekie, about her motivations…what is this all about?”

Delphine begins to quiver, tears forming in her eyes.

“I have the entire case file of her monitor reports at my disposal. Let’s see where this ends.” Rachel begins to read the date of each report and cherry picks certain paragraphs. In them, Delphine discloses Cosima’s contact with the other Leda sisters, something the scientist had already known. Then the doctor reports handing the scientist’s blood samples over to Dr. Leekie despite clear instructions not to.

“And it doesn’t stop there.”

The dates inch closer to the present day, and more secrets are exposed. Reuniting with Cosima in the yurt. Cosima’s reservations about eternal life. Her deterioration from the disease. Her anger at Delphine’s participation in Project Ambrosia, and her decision to continue their relationship regardless.

Both Cosima and Delphine’s hearts take a hit with each new revelation.

“And the reports go all the way up until…a few days ago,” Rachel finishes. “And then she leaves you. Dr. Cormier never told you, did she? That she never stopped being your monitor, that she continued to report on you all this time, filling us in on your every thought, your every plan…”

A long pause. Delphine begins to break down, tears streaming down her cheeks. It was true: the reports were all penned by her. She had never told Cosima she was still reporting as her monitor and had even led her to assume otherwise. There was no way the scientist would understand.

Finally, Cosima breaks the silence from the other line. “You have me there. I didn’t know. I didn’t know that she continued as my monitor and didn’t tell me. I really thought she had become more transparent.” Rachel looks over to the doctor and grins.

“But…I can understand why she did it. She has her reasons, though I may not always comprehend why initially.” After all, while some secrets were exposed in the reports, the more damaging ones were left out. Delphine understood how to play the game, far better than Cosima ever could, and was unwilling to sever her ties to Neolution as a result.

Rachel is taken aback but preserves her semblance of calm. “So romantic. So idealistic. So naïve. After all the times she crossed you, it’s like you don’t even feel a thing anymore…”

“I couldn’t be prouder of loving someone who has always acted to protect me.”

“Are you thinking straight?” Rachel scoffs. “Perhaps you need a night to rest on this knowledge.”

“My eyes have never been clearer,” Cosima replies. “I don’t know what the purpose of this call is, but Delphine Cormier is the least self-serving person I know. A far cry from you and your lies!”

Quivering in anger, Rachel snaps at Ian to turn the phone on video. Suddenly, Cosima watches a grainy image of Rachel standing under the night sky. The corporate clone promptly points the phone at Delphine gagging on the scarf.

“It’s time.”

A bodyguard cocks his gun, walks over to Delphine, and looks behind for a signal. Rachel nods; she had made up her mind and nothing short of a miracle was going to make her change it.

“Rachel,” Cosima replies as calmly as she can. “Listen to me. You don’t need to kill her. We don’t have to play PT’s game.”

“There can be only one Leda sister of our generation.”

“Then we change the rules, Rachel! We change the rules!”

“I can’t take that risk.”

Delphine looks up at the muzzle of the gun. So this was it. How it ends. How it had ended for millions of others whose paths crossed with evil. She is not going to experience another Monday, another month, another year. There would be no tomorrow morning. The last time her life flashed before her eyes, she had made her peace and accepted her fate in the Dyad parking lot.

But this was different. Delphine’s heartbeat surges, never before had she feared so intensely for her mortality. Cosima’s life depended on her survival. The scientist needed that cure. They had a future they were only beginning to hope could come to fruition.

“Don’t hesitate. End it,” Rachel orders.

“No!” Cosima calls out. “No, Rachel, please, just listen. Rachel! Rachel, we can make a deal. I’ll conduct whatever experiments you want, whatever you need me to do. I’ll lay down my life if you want me to, just don’t hurt her…God, please! Rachel, don’t do this!” For all Cosima’s talk of integrity, in her beloved’s final moments she would witness the scientist frantically selling out her soul.

Delphine closes her eyes. _I’m sorry, Cosima._ Her mind flashes back to the moment they first met at the university to the afternoon they ran off with wine bottles from Leekie’s lecture. The times they spent researching the Leda genome, fooling around in their lab, reuniting at Camp Revival… _Stay alive!_ She had never broken her promises. But it was too late now. The bodyguard positions the muzzle of his pistol to the doctor's forehead and fires.

In an instant, the bullet cracks the side of Delphine’s head and her body topples limply to the ground, her blood seeping into the grass.

“No!” Cosima bowls over, feeling her insides turn and her body go cold. The scientist does not even recognize her own wails drowning out her every breath, and she faints.

“Feel her pulse.” Rachel orders.

The bodyguard leans over, takes Delphine’s pulse, and shakes his head. Nothing. The other bodyguard does the same. “She’s dead.”

Rachel smiles. “Very well. Our work here is done. Francis, confirm with Ian that Cosima’s lab results have been swapped with mine.”

Francis shivers in shock. Watching a person get shot and die in front of you was very different in real life than it was in the movies. Just the minute before, a living body had been kneeling before him.

“What are you waiting for?”

“Yes, of course Ms. Duncan.”

“Rachel, are you insane?!” Ian shouts from the other line. Rachel takes the call off speakerphone. “She could have been our leverage over Miss Niehaus. How would she help us gain PT’s trust now? What if we want her to participate in future experiments? What if she dies?”

“Find a way to prop her up! There are other ways to gain leverage, other loved ones. What about her parents? I don’t have time for this.” Rachel abruptly ends the call and turns to leave.


	12. The Scientist

_Has no one ever told you that pain is part and parcel to living?_

 

“Shit, why isn’t she answering me?” Sarah and Felix sit at the port, waiting for Delphine to return as the sun begins its ascent. “She should be on her way back by now but her GPS signal hasn’t changed position in hours.”

“You don’t reckon something’s happened to her?”

“I should’ve done this myself. I’m going to find her and Cosima.”

“Are you mad? If something happened to them, you’ll just meet the same fate.”

“Watch Kira while I’m gone.”

“Sarah, think this through. Who’s going to finish debriefing the authorities?”

“You will. They already have all the information. Follow up and have them bust us out, the sooner the better. If not, they’ll still be forced to take action once the public learns what’s going on. The _Times_ story should be running tomorrow.”

“We still need you here. Kira needs you, Helena, Alison…I love Cosima as much as the rest of your sisters but since when is barging into a dangerous situation without a plan, a clue, or a prayer a good idea?”

“I don’t know if it’s occurred to you, but that’s exactly how we’ve been winging it these past few years and somehow, we managed to survive. And right now, we don’t have time. So if you don’t have any better ideas, I’m not going to let them die on that island.”

 

***

 

It’s early in the afternoon when Sarah’s boat docks on the southern coast of the island. She spots Delphine’s boat still tied to the shore, abandoned. She makes a quick inspection inside and turns to her smartphone. There was no mistake: the GPS signal suggested the doctor was here.

Sarah makes several calls to Delphine’s phone, finally noticing a vibration coming from within a crate. She opens it to find the duffel bag with its contents intact.

“You purposely keep your phone next to the cure and not on your person,” she mutters, pulling out the bag. “Idiot.”

Sarah had been on the island not long ago, but this time felt different, more uncertain. As she makes her way through the forest, she hears a rustling behind her and freezes. Was she being followed?

She had a choice now. She could run, but then her presence would surely be on its radar. Or she could fight. Perhaps she could ambush the figure from behind, strangle it until it loses consciousness. Or she could threaten it with the handgun in her jacket pocket.

The figure was approaching closer, slowly but surely. Decision time. She ducks behind it, charges from behind, and pistol whips the back of its head.

“Don’t make a sound if you wish to live.”

“Please,” The guard pleads, trying to stand up while looking Sarah in the eye. “Please, Cosima…It was Rachel’s orders…I didn’t know if the founder would want to keep a defector. I thought she would be speaking for him, that they would be on the same page. I didn’t know she’d kill her.”

Sarah’s heart skips a beat. _Could he mean Delphine?_ If so, she would have to play along. “Did you see the body?” Sarah attempts an American accent and cocks the slide of her gun. “Tell me!”

“Oh God please. I can’t think right now…”

Sarah helps him up while sticking the muzzle of her gun behind his head. “Lead me to where you last saw her. Now!”

The guard does as he’s told, not daring to look behind him. Finally, they reach a hilly area. “It was here. We dropped her off here.”

“What happened to her?”

“Last I heard was a gunshot.”

Sarah looks around and notices a pool of blood splayed out on the grass. “Jesus…What happened to her?” She slowly walks towards the scene of the crime, taking her eyes off the guard for a second.

“They must have disposed of the body,” he mutters.

“Where could they have…” The guard sprints away.

“Hey!” Sarah fires a shot but misses. _Great, now everyone knows where I am._ She places the gun back inside her jacket pocket and moves towards the camp.

 

***

 

That night, Charlotte returns to the yurt after having dinner with the other children. As she makes her way to the sink to wash her hands, Sarah crawls out from under the table and forcefully wraps a hand around the younger clone’s mouth.

“Don’t scream,” she whispers. “It’s me, your sister, Sarah. I’m going to let you go now.” She slowly loosens her grip and Charlotte breaks free.

The younger clone picks up the recording device and stows it away under the sink. “What are you doing here?” she asks.

“I’m looking for Cosima.”

“You’re a little late. She was very ill last morning and they took her away. She hasn’t returned since.”

“Who’s they? Where do you think she is?”

“Dr. Van Lier. If something happened to her, she’s either in a hospital or in the morgue.”

“Don’t even say that.”

“Why are you here now? She could be dead.”

“Hey, she’s the one who didn’t want to leave with me. Listen girl, I’d fool around too if I had all the time in the world but right now I don’t have Cosima, I don’t have Delphine, and I don’t have someone who can put this bloody cure together.”

Before she left, Delphine had told Sarah where she hid the other half of the cell line. Sarah had found it stashed underneath the bottom desk drawer next to a small radio. However, she would still need a scientist who can combine the cell lines and operate the medical equipment.

A loud knock at the door interrupts their conversation. Charlotte gestures to the wardrobe and Sarah hides inside. The young clone opens the door.

“Charlotte Bowles, you’re needed at the laboratory.”

“Dr. Van Lier! Where’s Cosima?”

“If you want her back alive, I suggest you come right away.”

Charlotte puts on a coat and slowly makes her way out. As soon as the young clone shuts the door, Sarah bolts out of the wardrobe and reaches under the desk drawer to pick up the radio. Then she peers out the window and waits a minute before making her exit.

 

They trudge towards the edge of the camp, to the metal doors on the side of the hill. A guard waves Ian through and he escorts Charlotte through unimpeded. It was now or never. Sarah makes a beeline towards the door.

“I’m with the doctor.”

“Identification.”

“Rachel Duncan, do I need to make myself known to you?”

“I don’t recall her having long black hair either.”

“Do you really want to question me tonight?”

The guard hesitates for a moment but decides not to press further. It couldn’t have been anyone else, the face and accent he certainly recognized, and the only other clone, Cosima, was already inside. “No, Ms. Duncan. Proceed.”

Once inside, Sarah spots the elevator at the end of the narrow hallway, with Ian and Charlotte stepping into the opening doors. She dashes towards the pair as fast as she can, and Charlotte taps the open button.

“What are you doing?!” Ian pushes the younger clone aside.

Sarah blocks the sliding doors with her hands and enters, holding a gun to Ian’s head. “We meet again, Dr. Van Lier. Bring me to Cosima now. And if there’s any funny business, I won’t hesitate to use this.”

 

Ian leads the clones down to the bunker and unlocks the door. Cosima lies at the operating table, her body strapped to a web of tubes. Her face looks serene, almost at peace.

“The hell happened to her?!” Sarah rushes over to her sister’s bedside. Fearful the worst has happened, she tries to shake her awake.

“I’m trying to help her,” Ian explains. “The IV fluid won’t be enough. I’m going to need Charlotte’s blood in order to attempt another shot at the cure.”

“Well it’s your lucky day, because I have both cell lines for you,” Sarah replies, holding up two vials.

“Much good that would do.”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t need to threaten me. I have nothing against Miss Niehaus. What you are requesting is a procedure I simply have no knowledge or experience of. Now you can ask me to figure this out, but this is simply not my area of expertise. However, there should be trace amounts of the cure still left in Charlotte’s system. If I can retrieve it…”

“Then we have to begin right away,” Charlotte says.

“No you’re not.” Cosima slowly opens her eyes. “No one is going to be giving up anything just so I can go through the same tired cycle of being sick and on the verge of dying all over again.”

“Cos, please you’re too weak right now.” Sarah responds.

“You came. I knew you would…What happened to…” Cosima smiles weakly before slipping back into unconsciousness. Ian walks over to her side, examines at the computer screens with a look of dread, and prepares an additional dosage of intravenous fluid.

“Would you care to tell me what happened to Delphine Cormier?” Sarah asks, but Ian remains silent. “I know she got shot. I know it was on Rachel’s orders. I saw blood on the ground of that hill…”

“Is it true?” Charlotte asks. “Dr. Cormier…”

“I didn’t think Rachel would go that far,” Ian replies.

“Do you realize that Delphine was the only thing she has to hold on to?” Sarah seethes.

Cosima opens her eyes again. “She’s gone. Isn’t she?” No one speaks. “I should have taken his damn offer! He didn’t even need me in the end!” Tears stream down her face. “Why did she come back? Sarah, why did you let her?!”

“You don’t even know if she’s dead,” Sarah says. “Remember, last time…”

“I saw her die with my own eyes!”

“Cos,” Sarah approaches her sister, staring at her straight in the eye. “You are more than just one relationship with one person. I know she meant a lot to you, but you will find someone else. But first you have to hold on. You promised her.”

“She broke her promise, as have you!” Cosima croaks. “This is my fault! I should have never stayed on this island, never asked you for that cure, never snapped at Rachel…But none of this matters anymore. Leave me with what little peace you can and allow me to die with dignity.”

Sarah slaps her sister across the face, not caring if she was still a patient. “Will you get a hold of yourself, woman? Life isn’t fucking fair! Has no one ever told you that pain is part and parcel to living? Why did Beth believe her best option was jumping in front of a train? Why can’t Alison have children? Why is suffering the only emotion Helena has ever known?

“Rachel killed her, period. Now I could live out the rest of my days pining over every little thing I could have done to save Paul, but he made his choice to sacrifice himself. He died a hero at the hands of Neolution and would have never blamed me for his death.

“It’s not all about you. And I did not come all the way to this godforsaken island to watch two of the bravest people I know die. The Leda sisters need you! I need you! We can’t do this without you!” She leans over, cradling Cosima in her arms as they both weep.

“Now you may not value your own life,” Sarah stammers, “but she happened to find it to be something worth preserving, something worth protecting, worth laying down her life for.”

“That’s enough, Sarah,” Ian interrupts. “She needs rest. Leave her be.”

“God, I was so unfair to her,” Cosima cries.

 _You can trust me…_ Delphine had pleaded to her in tears. _He says you’re in danger…It’s not a lie. It’s not possible._

But the scientist still couldn’t trust her. She scrutinized every action when in the end, the doctor was on her side all along.

_Please believe me. You need to trust someone._

“Sarah, tell my parents that I love them, and that I'm sorry,” Cosima dictates her final wishes to her sister. “Do not let them know what happened to me, in my final moments. Tell them there was no pain and to scatter my ashes across the Pacific. If you can, deliver Delphine’s body to her mother. Tell her that her daughter was selfless, loyal, and brave.”

Cosima closes her eyes for what she believes will be the last time. She had stubbornly fought and struggled against this disease too many times. Against all odds, she had won. But this time, she was too tired, too demoralized, to fight one more time.

“Cos, no! Do not give in - stay awake! Cos!”

 

Cosima finds herself dressed in a tuxedo and standing in a darkened room, with a single beam of light glimmering on a grand piano. She slowly makes her way towards the instrument and sits down before it. So many years had transpired since she last graced its keys, calming herself down after a stressful day at the lab.

As she starts to play, she hears footsteps behind her and turns around. Delphine, adorned in a stunning red dress and her hair tied neatly in a bun, walks towards her, singing with the notes. Cosima could have paused in surprise but instead continues her performance, as though willing her beloved’s presence through the melody. The French doctor places her hands gently on the scientist’s shoulders and leans over to her beloved’s ear.

“That was beautiful,” she whispers.

Cosima finishes the song and looks up. “You’re not alive, are you?” Silence. “Why did you leave me?”

“I will never leave you.”

“That’s not an answer!”

Delphine kneels down beside the piano and looks the scientist in the eye. “Don’t forget. You promised me. Promised you would do whatever you could to stay alive.”

“How many more chances do you expect me to have? How can you expect me to keep holding on…”

“Hey.” Delphine presses her lips against Cosima’s. “I’m right here.” She places a hand on the scientist’s heart and sits beside her. “I will hold you.” The doctor locks her beloved in an embrace as the scientist sobs into her chest.

Hours pass and Cosima’s breathing stabilizes. Meanwhile, Ian examines the medical equipment in Sarah’s duffel bag, trying to figure out how to combine the cell lines.

 

***

 

On the way to the airport that night, Rachel and Francis sit in silence in the back seat of a limousine.

“You know, Francis, if you can’t handle the job, if it’s too much for you, I understand. This is not a job for the meek.”

“That French doctor. What did she know?”

“Too much.”

“That you took the Ambrosia?” Francis drops his voice to a whisper.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she told the Leda sisters,” Rachel replies. “But PT will probably find out sooner or later, so before then, I’ll need to make the necessary preparations to consolidate myself at the head of Dyad. Furthermore, Delphine may have given them a chip with the contents of the black book, and I still do not know if they were able to access it.”

“When Dr. Cormier said only one can live…it has to be you, right? No one can ever kill you.”

“I am the first person to have taken the Ambrosia Imperium and survive. Not even PT has been injected. I cannot die.” She smiles, reaching inside her pocket to make sure she still had a vial of the serum, which she recently borrowed from Ian to bring back to the Dyad lab for further study. It had taken Ian weeks to assemble it, siphoning drops here and there. Suddenly, Rachel’s face drops, recalling her conversation with Delphine when they were inside the bunker.

_Your symptoms, I am well aware of them. I’ve lived through hell myself._

Rachel takes out her smartphone and calls Ian. He doesn’t pick up, so she turns to the next scientist she trusted who worked on the Ambrosia: Dr. Eva Peralta.

“Ms. Duncan, good evening.”

“Tell me the names of all the people who have ever taken the Ambrosia. Now.”

“You’ve seen the list, the tests that have been conducted.”

“Have they all been used with authorization?”

“Our subjects know what they are getting themselves into.”

“Have you ever used it to save someone who was on the verge of dying? Answer me.”

“Not that I recall.” A pause. “Save for the doctor.”

“What’s her name?”

“Who said it was a she?”

“Now, Eva. I don’t have time to dally.”

“Dr. Cormier. It was our only way to save her. PT himself authorized it.”

“How long do the effects last?”

“She was injected with a prototype, the Ambrosia Elysium. She doesn’t have eternal life. The effects may have worn off by now…why does this matter?”

Rachel shuts her phone. “Get out of the car, Francis.”

“You’ll be late.”

“I said get out! I am going to turn the car around and return to the island. You are going to catch a taxi to the airport and represent me at the Dyad board meeting. Is it so damn hard to finish a simple job?!”

“Is this about that doctor because we saw her die with our own eyes!” Francis says, tearing up. “What happens if she lives?”

“If she talks, then I am finished in PT’s eyes. Everything I’ve ever worked for will be undone!”


	13. The Clone and Her Monitor

_Death serves its purpose. There are irreversible consequences to eternal life._

 

“You can’t find the body…Did you spend more than five minutes on the burial?!” Rachel barks at her bodyguards upon her arrival on the island.

“Dr. Cormier couldn’t have survived for long,” a bodyguard replies. “She left a trail of blood all the way to the shore and then it drops off. She may have already been taken.”

“You had one task to do! One goddamn thing!…” Rachel’s smartphone rings and she picks up the call. “What? Does PT know? Has she said a word since? Good. Keep her there. I’ll head over.” Her voice grows calmer with each revelation, and she ends the call. “A minder – one of ours – discovered the doctor fainted but alive. And by God could someone get Ian to pick up his damn line!”

 

***

 

Delphine awakens, her wounded body throbbing and her mind a disorienting haze. She finds herself imprisoned in a narrow cell located in the underground laboratory. Her clothing is drenched in blood, sweat, and dirt. Her flesh reeks of the sickly sweet stench of death.

It takes the doctor several minutes to recall the events that transpired. How she had flinched at the last second before the bodyguard fired, leaving her with nothing more than blind hope that she would survive. How she forced herself into silence, attempting to quiet her racing heartbeat and suppressing the urge to fight back, as they shoveled dirt over her body.

How violently her body seized as she pulled herself out from the makeshift grave, her life hanging by a thread. How, after bandaging her head wound with the bodyguard’s scarf, she dragged herself through the forest in a single-minded search for the cure. How she fended off the overbearing sense of despair and agony with each excruciating step.

If the bullet couldn’t end her life, the blood loss alone should have killed her. But she understood the Ambrosia and its restorative properties would have accelerated her body’s ability to heal the wound and replicate her blood cells.

Delphine hears footsteps approaching the cell and closes her eyes. A guard unlocks the cell door and steps inside to check her pulse. “You’re a survivor, aren’t you?” He remarks, a tranquilizer in his hand. “I’d snap your neck, but I believe Ms. Duncan has other plans for you.” The doctor eyes the pistol tucked in the guard’s holster. It was now or never.

Rachel makes her way out the elevator doors and to the prison cell, speaking on the phone with Dr. Peralta. “Now, how does one kill a person who cannot die?” she asks. “Should we dismember the body, douse her in flames, plunge her in the ocean…which path would leave the least amount of evidence? She’s a dead woman walking anyways, bitch should never have lived as long as she did.”

“I’d be more cautious around her,” Dr. Peralta replies. “The Ambrosia was created to complement the human body. It remains latent when unneeded. But when the recipient’s heart rate starts beating too fast or too slowly, the serum also spikes the body’s adrenaline production as a measure of defense. She can be dangerous.”

As Rachel turns the corner, she hears the guard cry out and crumble to the floor. A strike by the muzzle of his own pistol had knocked him unconscious. Delphine steps out from her cell moments later and locks eyes with her nemesis.

The corporate clone cowers in horror at the sight of the doctor’s bloodied face and drops her phone. “You’re a monster!”

With eyes full with rage, Delphine brandishes the pistol and marches towards Rachel.

“We can make a deal.”

“I’m done cutting deals with you!”

Rachel reaches to her waist and pulls out a gun, but the doctor shoots her in the arm first. The clone slumps against the wall, the blast forcing her to relinquish the weapon.

“Don’t worry, you won’t die,” Delphine seethes. “This shouldn’t hinder your ability to talk. Where’s Cosima?”

“How should I know,” Rachel gasps. “You look quite the sight…”

“Tell me or it’s going to be a lot more painful for you than it was for me.” Delphine cocks the pistol.

“All right! They’re keeping her…inside the bunker on the bottom floor. But you won’t have clearance to the room without me.”

Delphine crouches beside Rachel, confiscating her phone and security badge. She reaches into the clone's pockets, discovering a vial of clear silver liquid. “What’s this?” _Ambrosia Imperium._

“It’s not for you! This is for Mr. Westmoreland to inject himself in front of the press in New York.”

“Then it’s fairly treacherous to be ending up in your hands, wouldn’t you say?” Delphine waves the vial in front of Rachel’s face.

“I have no need for it. I’ve been injected.”

“But you’ve been studying it, haven’t you? Sequencing it? Betraying the trust of the man who gave you life, gave you purpose,” Delphine replies while undoing Rachel’s belt buckle.

“You’re no different from me, Dr. Cormier…you just want the Imperium for yourself! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Don’t move.” Delphine wraps the belt tightly around Rachel’s arm, staunching the blood flow. But even as she operated on her, the wound had already begun to heal. The blood flow had stopped and color was returning to her skin. The doctor lifts the clone up and carries her to the prison cell.

_What was it that happens when an Ambrosia recipient is wounded? What was it that had enabled her to survive, imbued her with the strength to escape and ability to overpower a guard?_

Right before Delphine could force her inside, Rachel shoves her would-be captor against the wall, forcing the doctor to drop the pistol. Delphine dives towards the weapon but Rachel body slams her, locked in a desperate struggle to reach it first.

Not only was Rachel’s Ambrosia stronger and injected more recently, but Delphine is weakened from her untreated head wound and torturous struggle for survival.

It couldn’t end now, not with Cosima’s life on the line, and her own. With all her strength, Delphine shoves her assailant off, retrieves the pistol, and stands up. The clone hurls the doctor against the wall and strikes her repeatedly in the face and stomach.

But as Rachel attempts to kick her, Delphine knocks the clone off balance and pushes her into the cell. The doctor swiftly shuts the door, locking her inside.

“No…” Rachel cries out. “Just tell me. Am I the Legacy Clone? You know the answer, don’t you?” She begins to bawl.

“That is your concern at this moment?” Delphine snaps coldly, panting in exhaustion from their brawl. “You were once before, but you are not anymore. A new one has been designated.” As Rachel begins to cry, the doctor is less than sympathetic. “Seriously? You’re surprised PT was going to screw you over? Haven’t you ever seen your master operate?”

“Who is it?” Rachel pleads. “Who did he pick? It can’t be Sarah, could it? She survived far longer than she should have. Tell me!” She breaks down in tears as Delphine abandons her for the bunker, depriving the corporate clone of an answer.

 

“You need to decide if I can proceed with the operation, Sarah.” Ian speaks from his perch in the bunker. “You can’t keep me here forever.”

“It’s all right,” Charlotte says. “If it’s the only way.”

“I need to consider and respect Cosima’s wishes as well,” Sarah responds.

“Someone’s coming.” Charlotte turns around, listening for the patter of uneven footsteps.

“No funny business,” Sarah threatens Ian. She slowly opens the door and draws her weapon. Before she can shoot, she gasps, almost dropping the gun. “Bloody hell. You are…who I think you are?” She comes face-to-face Delphine, who also stands with a weapon drawn.

“Sarah?” Delphine replies in shock. “You came too?” They lower their guns, and Sarah helps her into the bunker.

“You look like hell,” Sarah remarks. “What happened to you? I heard you were executed.”

“I moved my head at the last moment, but it’s the Ambrosia keeping me alive,” Delphine explains. “How is Cosima? Is she alive?” She limps over to the scientist’s bedside, her face welling in tears, and softly strokes her beloved’s head. “ _Chérie_ …”

“She’s stable but fading fast,” Ian explains. “If I can procure Charlotte’s blood and separate traces of the cure…”

“What? No. I’m surprised you’re desperate enough to think that could work,” Delphine replies. “How much blood would that even require? Charlotte’s body would have absorbed most of the serum by now. Even if you drain her entire body, there may not be enough left to give Cosima. A full dosage of the cure without delay is our best chance.”

“Your scarf isn’t doing a great job restricting the blood flow, you know that?” Sarah interrupts. She turns to Ian and points the gun in his direction. “You. Make sure she lives.”

“No,” Delphine responds. “We need to go back to the boat and find Cosima’s cure.”

“That’s been covered,” Sarah replies. “I have both cell lines and the duffel bag.”

“I will start putting them together.” Delphine heads to the counter and observes the equipment, squinting to read the labels while wiping blood and sweat away from her eyes.

“Look,” Sarah says. “I don’t know how effective the Ambrosia is still in your system, but if we don’t patch up your wound soon, you’ll bleed out. Let’s have you treated first and then work on Cosima’s cure.”

“There’s no time,” Delphine closes her eyes, almost losing her balance, and then focuses back on the cell lines.

“Listen to me! It doesn’t do Cosima any good if you faint before finishing her cure! Would you stop being such a stubborn git for just one moment and think about it?!”

Recognizing her inability to concentrate, Delphine relents and hands Rachel’s smartphone to Sarah. Ian performs an X-ray of the doctor’s skull before operating on her forehead.

“You’re lucky the bullet nearly missed your brain, but the impact left no shortage of skull fragments,” Ian explains. “Much of it shows signs of healing, which is positive, but the effect of the Ambrosia was limited. You really had to will yourself to live.”

“What are you doing?”

“Calm down, it’s only a little morphine.”

“No, don’t do that. I will need to keep my focus.”

Ian shrugs. “Your call.”

Sarah keeps one eye trained on Ian and turns on Rachel's smartphone. Slowly, she presses her thumb against the white oval on the screen until icons materialize on the home screen. Then she pulls up Felix's number from her smartphone and uses Rachel's device to call him.

“Fee, it’s me," she says. "Yes, I’m all right. How are Kira and S? Are you sure they’re fine? Yes, I’m on the island. Yes, Cosima’s slipping out but we’re going to deliver the cure. What’s your status?”

“Is there really no connection to the outside world over there?" Felix replies. "Turn on the television, open a computer! Things are moving quickly. The _Times_ piece ran and the story is already on all the major news channels, so it’s only a matter of time before the dominoes fall. Two sites have published the black book files already, with more surely to come. With luck, the Department of Public Safety will be paying a visit to the island by the end of the day.”

“Hold on, Fee,” Sarah scrolls through Rachel’s smartphone and pulls up several news websites. The headlines all focus on the same topic: _Neolution Exposed. Fringe Science Cult Holds Ties to Major Pharmaceutical Corporations. Who is PT Westmoreland? Enigmatic Scientist Accused of Experimenting on Children._ She turns on Delphine’s pocket radio and searches for a news program. _Is this the end of Neolution and the Dyad Institute? A damning report out today claims that for several decades, Percival T Westmoreland…_

“Thank God.” Sarah holds the phone to her chest and leans against the wall. “But…what if he’s following the developments? He could be planning his endgame while we’re all sitting ducks.”

“What can he do, burn the place down to rid himself of the evidence?” Felix asks. “Oh God, Sarah you got to get out of there. Looks like you’re about to become a victim of my success.”

“That’s not an option right now. Keep doing what you’re doing and don’t worry about me. Pile on the pressure. We’re almost done.”

“This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. You’re supposed to be here, with Kira, safe.” Felix sighs. “But I know better than to ever try to change your mind. Good luck. I love you sis.”

“Love you too, Fee. Bye.” Sarah hangs up before he can hear her weep.

 

An hour later, Ian completes his operation on Delphine and stitches up her head. “You’ve lost a lot of blood without receiving any transfusions to replenish it. The Ambrosia remaining in your bloodstream will not be reliable. You need rest.”

“Not now,” Delphine forces her way up and hobbles over to the counter, spying a quick glance at Cosima along the way. Every second would be critical.

Ian stands up to leave, but Sarah forces him back down. “We’re not finished yet. We’ll still need to make it out alive.” He sits down, brooding over radio reports of Neolution’s impending demise and realizing his life’s work may have reached an unceremonious end.

Twenty minutes later, Delphine swirls a vial containing both cell lines and sighs in relief when the serum turns a bright red on her first try. Success.

The doctor loads the completed cure into a syringe and kneels beside her love, placing one hand on her cheek. “ _Chérie_ …”

Cosima slowly opens her eyes and recoils in pain at Delphine’s touch. The image is faint, but the scientist sees the one thing she ever wanted, her beloved standing before her. She opens her mouth but finds herself unable to speak, as though if she dared to think how this wasn’t possible, the doctor would disappear.

“You came back to me,” Cosima finally mutters, thanking a God she didn’t believe existed.

“Of course. I made you a promise.”

“You’re hurt…are we dead?”

“No. You’re still alive.”

The realization dawns on Cosima. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Stay still. I’m going to administer your cure right now.”

“Delphine…this time, it’s different. I have no more strength. I’m really going to die.”

“Don’t you dare,” Sarah marches over and looks Cosima straight in the eye. “We finally brought her back to you. Don’t you give up now!”

From his seat, Ian scoffs at their optimism. “Even if the cure was administered this very instant, I wouldn’t wager its effects will take hold in time to save her. She’s too weak; she shouldn’t even be conscious right now.”

“Then what do you propose?” Sarah inquires.

Delphine pulls out the vial of Ambrosia Imperium from her pocket and opens up the cabinet, searching for another syringe.

“How did you get that?” Ian stands up.

“What are you doing?” Sarah asks.

“Dr. Van Lier is right, the cure will take too much time to take hold,” Delphine replies. “But the Ambrosia is our panacea. Cosima’s situation is dire; the cure would be too risky. It’s the only way.”

“You’re going to make her invincible?” Sarah asks. “Do you even understand what that Ambrosia does to people?”

“I helped create this. And if Rachel could survive it, so can Cosima. This is all that I have.”

“Do you care to ask your girlfriend if she’s okay with it first?”

Delphine ignores her, holds up the loaded syringe, and sits by Cosima’s side. “Do you trust me?”

“I trust you,” Cosima mutters. “But I’m not going to take the Ambrosia.”

Delphine looks at the scientist in shock. “This has to happen now. Do you understand what could happen if we do not do this?”

“I understand the consequences, and I am prepared to accept them. I will not go down that path. If I take the Ambrosia, I will just become another one of his specimens, a zoo animal for the world to see.”

“This is different! Neolution is dying. There is no way PT will survive this.”

“Death serves its purpose. There are…irreversible consequences to eternal life.” She weakly takes Delphine’s hand into hers, grimacing with each movement. “I want nothing more than for us to be happy together. I’m so sorry.”

The doctor quakes in anger, at Cosima’s willingness to gamble her own life. But she knew they needed to make a decision now and pursue that path with everything they had. She wipes away her tears and nods in understanding.

“Okay,” she finally gives in, turning to the scientist. “Okay, _mon amour_. I’m…I’m going to give you the cure and pray it’s effective.”

“Dr. Cormier,” Ian interrupts. “Given her current state, she can enter into shock with any injections. It’s best she remains unconscious.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Delphine turns to Cosima. “I will place you in an induced coma. Do you understand what this means?”

“When you put me to sleep, I might never wake up.”

The doctor nods through her tears and turns to Sarah. “Can you lower the lights? The radio, can we listen to some light music instead?”

Charlotte reaches over and touches Cosima’s arm. “Will she be all right?”

Delphine gently grips Charlotte’s shoulder and whispers in her ear. “Be careful. A firm touch can be painful for her, and she might not be able to see you well. But she should still be able to hear you, so speak softly to her.”

“We will be right here, don’t worry,” Charlotte says.

“That’s right,” Delphine smiles, forcing herself to sound strong. “We’re not going anywhere.”

“You know, I’ve never been to Europe,” Cosima says.

Delphine perks up in surprise that in this moment of great uncertainty, this would be Cosima’s final thought. “I think you would really love it.”

“Where would you take me?”

The doctor laughs. “We will go biking across the French countryside.”

“At sunset.”

“There would be no better time.” Delphine leans over. “I will take you this café in Paris, at the corner of an alley away from the tourists. I swear they bake the world’s finest chocolate croissants.”

“Sounds just like a dream. I can’t wait to share all of those moments with you. That’s a promise?”

“Yes, that’s a promise.” Delphine takes Cosima’s hands and gently laces their fingers together. “ _Je t'aime pour toujours_.”

Cosima smiles but then focuses back to the present. “If I’m not coming back, do not hook me to a machine. Please, grant me this. I trust you to make that decision for me.”

“Okay. I will, _chérie_.” Delphine cracks in her attempt to appear strong.

“I never really thanked you, for always being there for us,” Cosima says. “You never made excuses, ran away, or questioned fate. You were always by my side. I love you, Delphine.” The scientist nods, granting her beloved permission to place her in a coma.

Delphine leans in for one last kiss before placing a ventilator over Cosima’s mouth. The silence is short-lived as the doctor gets straight to work on the operation. There was only one dosage of the cure, one chance to get this right. The doctor takes a deep breath and raises Cosima’s shirt, exposing her belly. Slowly, she pinpoints the proper area and inserts the needle into the scientist’s skin. This was it.


	14. The Master Manipulator

_I have no inheritors! I don’t need any._

 

After Cosima’s operation, all that was left to do was wait. The minutes tick by, each reflecting a potential death sentence. Ian is locked in the other room and takes a nap while Charlotte sleeps on an operating table.

Sarah takes Delphine’s hand into hers and gives it a reassuring grip. “Have faith in your medical abilities. It’ll all be over soon. Felix says all the major networks are covering Neolution now. It’s only a matter of time before the authorities move in to shut the whole operation down.”

Suddenly, Rachel’s phone rings and Sarah glances at the caller ID. It was PT. She locks eyes with Delphine for a brief second, acknowledging this particular call would be too important to ignore.

“Rachel Duncan,” Sarah answers.

“Did you catch the broadcasts?”

“No…what’s going on?”

“I find it hard to believe you wouldn’t notice. Pack up everything in your office at Revival! I’m instructing everyone to burn the place down.”

“What about the lab? We can’t sacrifice the equipment…”

“It’s over, Rachel. Everything has to go. Find Ian and have him bring the stockpile of Ambrosia to my manor at once! I’ll have Mud remove the outer lock so he just needs to input his code.” The call ends.

“The stockpile,” Delphine says. “It contains all known quantities of Ambrosia ever created. We can’t leave it in Neolution hands.”

“Or the hands of the government. You never know who’s working for Neo,” Sarah barges into the other room and wakes Ian up. “We’ve got one more assignment for you to complete. You’re going to lead us to the stockpile…”

“Sarah…” Delphine calls from the operating table.

“What’s wrong?” Sarah returns and peers at the heart rate monitor, watching the rhythms swing erratically. “Shit.”

Ian rushes to grab the defibrillator as Delphine takes a pair of scissors to cut open Cosima’s blouse. “Stay with me!” The French doctor performs a round of chest compressions before Ian delivers an electric shock. “Hang on!”

After trading off with Ian, the doctor seizes the syringe containing the Ambrosia in her panic. “I have to do this.”

“Are you mad, woman?!” Sarah yells. “She’ll never forgive you.”

“I’ll learn to live with that.”

“You’re placing your unwillingness to live with yourself for letting Cosima die over her own wishes!”

“You are not Cosima’s keeper!” Delphine shouts back.

Sarah picks up her bottle and splashes water across Delphine’s face. The doctor shoots back a look of scorn but doesn’t retaliate.

“That was out of line. I apologize.” Sarah backtracks. “I haven’t had much sleep and I’ve been knocking people all day.”

“What would you do if it was Kira?”

“She’s a child! This is not the same!”

“But what if it was? What if she was old enough and in a place to tell you no?”

“Frankly, I…I would have to be strong enough to let her go,” Sarah replies. “Look. I know how passionately you care for my sister. You battled death itself in order to come back here. But that does not give you the right to overrule her decision and impose your own."

Sarah sighs. “But…you are right. Ultimately, you are the one Cosima trusted, so the decision is yours to make, not mine.”

“Her pulse has stabilized.” Ian points to the screen. Delphine rushes to the operating table and listens to Cosima’s breathing.

“Okay,” Sarah says. “I’m going to leave with Van Lier now, pick up the stockpile, and then you and I are going to decide what to do with it.”

“Do what you must,” the doctor replies, facing the monitor. “Please, leave us some privacy.”

After they depart, Delphine pulls a blanket over Cosima and carefully nestles on the operating table with her, stringing one arm along her chest and resting the other on her hair.

“ _Chérie_ ,” she whispers. “I wish we had more time, to make more crazy science together: limitless science that knows no bounds.”

As the world around them burns, Delphine places a hand softly on Cosima’s heart. “Do not be afraid, for I will be with you to the end. I know what you asked of me, and I will respect it. I will always remember my promises to you. I will look after your sisters, don’t worry…” She kisses the scientist on the forehead.

 

***

 

Rachel is wailing in her prison cell when she is finally spotted. Mud, struggling under the weight of a tank of gasoline, rushes to the sound of the screams.

“Ms. Duncan. What are you doing in here? You were told to pack your office and leave immediately.”

Rachel slides Mud a key card she swiped from the unconscious guard. “Scan it. Now!” Mud does as she is told and the corporate clone pushes her aside on the way out.

“Delphine and Cosima. In the hospital bunker…you need to capture them,” Rachel instructs.

“We don’t have time. What happened to your arm?”

“Where is PT? Why are we packing?”

“Mr. Westmoreland is at his manor. Everyone is being ordered to evacuate immediately and burn the camp to the ground.”

“We’ve been compromised…”

“Have you been checking your phone? I need to clear out the rest of the facility.”

Rachel doesn’t hear the minder and instead exits the facility. Like a woman possessed, she needed to see PT if it was the last thing she did.

 

Instead of deteriorating, Cosima’s heart rate begins to stabilize and her breathing grows less shallow. Delphine sighs in relief, exhausted but in awe at how science carried the day. “Hold on, Cosima. Please. Just live long enough for the serum to take hold.”

The doctor reaches into her pocket and notices the folded letter Cosima had given her before she left the island. She hadn’t yet read it, as though doing so would curse them from meeting again.

 

_My French puppy,_

_One of my greatest misgivings on the prospect of eternal life is the inevitable tendency to take what we hold dear for granted. Often, we are so caught up in our immediate desires when everything we ever needed is standing right in front of us, opening themselves up to love._

_My heart has longed for you every day since the moment we met. But since we stood at opposite ends of the science, it seemed all we were ever destined for was friction. And while we may not share the same native tongue, you are the only one who knew me, who cared to understand me, who would be patient with me and everything that’s come between us._

_I don’t ever want to turn my back on you again. I want to open myself to love and to be loved by you. And I can’t wait until that day when I can hold you in my arms again and call you mine. But until that day comes, I’ll be waiting._

_All my love, your buddy Cosima_

 

Delphine wipes away the tears from her eyes. If she had only read the letter earlier, it could have saved her some grief while Rachel revealed her secret to Cosima.

Sarah returns shortly afterward, with one hand covering her eye. In her other hand, she holds a large steel suitcase stocked with vials of Ambrosia.

“What happened? Where’s Ian?” Delphine asks.

“He escaped right after we recovered the stockpile. Tried to fight me for it and knocked my bloody eye, but he was going to have to pry it from my dead hands.”

“You need to leave right now,” Mud interrupts.

“Mud, what are you doing down here?” Delphine asks.

“This girl here may have helped me out,” Sarah adds.

“Everything is about to be burned to the ground,” Mud says. “Look, I’m really not kidding around. We need to leave right away.”

“What about Cosima? She’s just starting to recover.”

“Thank God. We’ll carry her out together. Come on, to the lift!” Sarah takes off her jacket and wraps it around Cosima’s body while Delphine carefully removes the medical equipment. Then they move the scientist onto a stretcher.

“Where do you think you’re heading?” Mud asks. “The elevators won’t be reliable with half the laboratory burning.”

“What about the stairs?” Delphine notes.

“You’ll be spotted. But there is another way. PT has his own private elevator and staircase on the other side. I can access it.”

They rush over to PT’s elevator and press the button, but several minutes pass and nothing happens.

“Someone must have used and disabled it…” Mud says. “Maybe Ms. Duncan, or Dr. Van Lier…We have no choice but to take the stairs.”

As they step into the staircase, Sarah sends Charlotte up ahead with the stockpile. If the young clone encounters anyone demanding the suitcase, she was to drop it down to the ground floor. Meanwhile, they hoist Cosima up on a stretcher, with Delphine carrying the front and Sarah and Mud holding her from behind.

It was eleven stories to the top, and temperatures rose with each step as fire engulfs the surrounding laboratories.

Seven floors from the top, Delphine pauses, sensing her partners’ weakness. “Sarah, you’ve gone on long enough without sleep. Mud, you must be exhausted. I’ll carry Cosima. I’m still running on adrenaline from the serum.”

“No, we do this together,” Sarah replies curtly and forces herself onward to prove her strength.

“You’ll just slow us down,” Delphine retorts. “Go up to Charlotte.”

Sarah wants to fight back but realizes the doctor had a point – she was slowing down drastically, having been running around for the past 48 hours without sleep. “Okay.” They toss the stretcher to the side and Delphine carries Cosima on her back.

“It’s almost over,” Delphine says to Sarah, who gives her a knowing nod. Turning to Mud, the doctor says, “Thank you for coming back to save us. And sorry for…spiking the milk.”

“What?”

“We can discuss later. Go!”

Sarah dashes up the stairs, forcing herself up with each step. _Kira, Felix, Mrs. S…Alison, Helena, Cosima_ …if only she can make it to the top…

 

***

 

“Mr. Westmoreland, you have a visitor.”

PT is instructing his servants on which furniture to pack when he receives the news. “Does it appear I have time to entertain guests?”

“Then perhaps we should discuss this in public.” Rachel walks in.

PT smirks. “Ms. Duncan. Well if I had known you would be our special visitor, I would certainly spare the time. But first…hand over your weapon.”

Rachel acts surprised for a moment, but there is no use pretending in front of the founder. She reaches under his skirt and surrenders the gun to a guard.

PT gestures the corporate clone towards his underground lab, which reeks of rotting flesh and gasoline. He dismisses his guard at the entrance and follows her down the stairs.

Rachel reflexively hesitates for a moment before pacing the lab, scanning the photographs on the wall and the blood on the floor. “Christ, how many lives were taken down here? And now you’re really planning to burn this place down? Cleanse yourself of all the evidence.”

“Only until I can begin anew.” PT grins. “I heard there was a bit of a debacle involving Dr. Cormier. Big mistake. Never underestimate an Ambrosia recipient.”

“Sage advice for the both of us."

PT ignores her comment. “So what is the urgent matter Ms. Duncan needs addressed this very moment?”

“I’ll get straight to the point. Who is the Legacy Clone?”

“Neolution is crumbling beneath our feet as we speak and this is your question?”

“And you appear completely at ease as it burns. Answer me!”

“Nothing was ever promised you, Rachel. You had to earn it.”

“You acted as though you trust me, but in the end, you were just going to kill me…You told me I was a daughter to you!”

“Like a daughter,” PT corrects. “Oh, Rachel. For someone who knows so much, you understand so little. I only needed one successful clone. A clone that’s unfortunately lying on her deathbed.”

“Honestly? Cosima Niehaus?”

“You’ve always been…how should we put it, blithe over the deaths of your sisters. One fewer competitor.”

“How did you know she…”

“Is dying? Ian called me not too long ago. I know everything. That you blackmailed and corrupted the man I trusted most, a man who I believed had some shred of honor.”

“I can’t die, PT. I’ve taken the Ambrosia Imperium and Cosima has not.”

“Very well. I had suspected as much. Congratulations.”

“When did you make the switch? When did you take out my name?”

“When I saw in your eyes, the same thirst for eternal power, the same lust that consumed me for the past century. There cannot be more than one lion in the den. But you want the truth, Rachel? It was always meant to be you! You were supposed to be my Legacy Clone!”

Rachel easily lifts up a floor lamp and swings at PT, narrowly missing him, but he hardly flinches.

“You honestly don’t believe anything can hurt you…”

“I can’t die, Rachel. Put that down.”

“Change it. Designate me as the Legacy Clone!”

PT laughs. “Even if I did, you would never trust me again. You have me in your crosshairs and you wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger once you have the chance.”

“After everything I’ve sacrificed for you, for the good of your goddamn vision! You made me believe I would be your heir!”

“I have no inheritors!” PT shouts. “I don’t need any. My greatest mistake was keeping you as my Legacy Clone for as long as I did!…And now, if you are the one responsible for killing my Legacy Clone, I may as well have to designate Sarah Manning.”

As he had intended, PT’s taunt goads Rachel into a manic frenzy. She swings again with the lamp, striking the founder so violently his left hip shatters and he collapses on the floor.

“Mr. Westmoreland!” The guards force open the door and cock their guns at Rachel.

“It’s all right! Move! Move!” PT drags himself up the stairs. Once he reaches the doorway, the founder turns around, takes a match from his pocket, and lights it. “You want to be a legend, Rachel? I’ll give it to you! You’ll be the first to test the infinite power of the Imperium! You should be so honored.”

Rachel looks down and realizes in horror that the floor is coated in a dry pool of gasoline. She rushes in the other direction as PT tosses the burning match and flees with the guards.

“She can’t die, can she?” A guard asks. “If she escapes and talks…”

“Doesn’t matter,” PT replies. “The manor will soon crumble in a smoldering pile of debris. They might never find the body.” The guards lift him to a sofa and resume packing up his belongings. “What a waste this all was, until my next life…Prepare the chopper. And where is Sarah Manning and the damn stockpile?!”

 

***

 

Delphine is running entirely on adrenaline as she forces her way to the top. “Almost there, Cosima.” The doctor prepares to dash up another flight of stairs when suddenly, the staircase gives way to a violent jolt. She loses her balance and slumps back against the wall, with the scientist absorbing the brunt of the impact before toppling over.

 _No. No!_ Delphine feels her body go cold, watching her beloved scientist rolling away from her and down the stairway. Cosima regains consciousness and moans in pain.

“Delphine! Are you all right?” Sarah and Mud rush down two flights of stairs.

“Go back! It’s going to crash at any moment!”

The doctor watches helplessly as Sarah picks Cosima up from her arms while Mud lifts the scientist’s legs.

“Come on,” Charlotte says, holding Delphine’s hand. Together, they rush up the final flights of stairs.

 

Sarah, Charlotte, Mud, Delphine, and Cosima escape the burning laboratory and stand at the outskirts of Camp Revival, stunned by the sudden turn of events. Every other yurt is in flames, as is the medical trailer. Armed soldiers and police herd the remaining denizens and usher them away from the camp.

“Felix came through for us,” Sarah breathes out in relief. “Now we just have to spend the next couple of years mired with legal testimonies and tell-all interviews, and then, with hope, it’s all over.”

Delphine comforts Cosima, urging her to stay still as she puts her glasses back on. “It’s going to be all right now. Help has arrived.” The doctor looks up and spots a helicopter overhead, making its way toward the Westmoreland manor. “No. No, he’s getting away!”

“That doesn’t concern you,” Sarah shoots back. “Let the authorities take care of the justice bit.”

“How do we know they will, considering what it took for them just to pay attention?” Delphine asks. “How do we know PT won’t escape and start another cult, recreate the serum, or restart the entire project?”

“I don’t know. But our work here is done. We’re going home.”

“Watch over Cosima.” Delphine picks up the stockpile and rushes to the manor.

“Don’t do this. Don’t!” Sarah prepares to tackle the doctor but Charlotte intervenes. “God, that woman…”

“Stay, Sarah,” the younger clone pleads. “We need to take care of Cosima.”

The Neolutionist scientists and guards make their way into the helicopter and await PT's arrival. Their founder limps along, injured from Rachel’s strike, with one shoulder draped around a minder.

Suddenly, shots fire and in their fear of arrest, the guards shut the helicopter door and the pilot lifts off. The minder also takes off running, knocking PT to the ground.

“Where is Delphine going?” Cosima asks weakly.

“She’s…going after Mr. Westmoreland,” Mud replies.

“Shit," the scientist grips her forehead. “She made me a promise, a promise to protect me and the Leda sisters.”

“What does this mean?” Sarah asks.

“It means she will do whatever she believes needs to be done to keep us safe, even if it means sacrificing herself. She’s going to kill him.”

Delphine stands ten yards away from PT and directs a pistol at him. PT looks up to meet the doctor’s bloodshot eyes, wild with rage, and smirks.


	15. The Sisters of Leda

_If what remains of Neolution doesn’t find you, someone else will. You will never find peace._

 

“Dr. Cormier.” PT flips onto his back and flashes a bemused smile, not believing the doctor who owed her life and career to him would actually fire. “What happened to your face? Quite the nasty scar you got. I can assure you that whatever happened, I played no role in it.”

“You never anticipated your day of reckoning, have you?” Delphine seethes, her finger tight on the trigger. “The day a researcher you’ve dragged through hell returns to witness your fate.”

PT scoffs. “You were just a stray dog when I sent Leekie to recruit you! Who took your papers, your research, your brilliance seriously? Only Neolution recognized your full potential, and we hoisted you to the brink of scientific greatness!”

Delphine takes a few steps forward, and PT flinches. “I don’t require anything from you or your collapsing empire.”

“Then what do you want, Dr. Cormier? Because if you want answers, you’ll have nothing if you shoot me.”

“Cosima…why did you designate her as the Legacy Clone? What will become of her and all of the Leda sisters?”

“You know how I operate. It is by sheer practicality. Cosima understood the science, and she is not an opportunist. These qualities were laid out in a report you drafted yourself. You thought very highly of her.

“But in the end, Miss Niehaus is just a clone, conceived in a test tube, a by-product of happenstance. Without Ambrosia, do you honestly believe the cure will be sufficient? But if you want her that badly, I could recreate her, reprogram her genetics to speed up the aging process…”

“She’s more human than you will ever be! Neolution, your life work, everything, is finished. I will not allow you to hurt another Leda sister.”

“No. It will live. You can all it Neolution or by any another name. This dream will never meet its grave.” PT laughs. “Surely you understand that you know too much now, Dr. Cormier. Your knowledge of the Ambrosia is simply too valuable to pass up. Mark my words: if what remains of Neolution doesn’t find you, someone else will. You will never find peace.”

“Unlike you, Mr. Westmoreland, I’m not afraid to meet my fate,” Delphine lowers the steel suitcase and opens it, exposing dozens of vials of Ambrosia. She retrieves the Imperium-laced syringe she took from Rachel and places it at the top.

PT lowers his gaze. “The stockpile. Every last drop of Ambrosia. Are you trying to cut me a deal?”

“No. I’m here to ensure that you are going to live.”

The founder raises an eyebrow. “And why would you be so kind?”

“Because once I’m done with you, you’ll be begging to be released into the gates of hell.” Delphine raises the pistol towards his chest. “And when you begin to die, we’ll start the process all over again. You’ll be remembered, not as a living God but as a cautionary tale of what happens when science operates without ethics.”

For the first time, the doctor sees PT’s eyes betray a look of fear, of doubt that the grand vision he had set for himself decades earlier could actually not be possible.

“No!” PT is bellowing now, his body buckling in fear. For someone who had led so many lives to their deaths, he would not hold up when the tables were turned. “I know you believe in this dream. Together…”

“Delphine stop!”

Slowly, the doctor turns around and is stunned to find Cosima limping towards her, with Sarah and Charlotte standing close behind.

Delphine manages a smile, embarrassed that the scientist may have overheard her threaten PT. “Stay back!”

“Put down the gun. Please!” Cosima drops to her knees.

The doctor hesitates, turning back to PT, the muzzle of her weapon still facing him as he attempts to crawl away.

“All I ever wanted, all I ever needed, is for you to be here,” the scientist pleads. “PT is going to spend a long time locked up. But if you shoot him, all of that goes away. You will be the one imprisoned.”

“He will never stop. He must account for his sins…”

“That is not our place. Delphine, please.” Cosima stares at her beloved with fear. For the first time since they had decided to trust each other, the scientist dwells in complete uncertainty over how the doctor would react. “We still need you. You hold so much value, to me, to all of us. You have a place here.” She opens her arms, as if welcoming a puppy home. “Come here.”

A few tense seconds later, Delphine lowers her gun and runs over to Cosima, kneeling down and wrapping her beloved in an embrace.

“Thank God,” Cosima sighs in relief, resting in Delphine’s arms. “Thank you for saving me, again. Thank you for trusting me. I love you.” The scientist reaches over to pick up the gun, unload the magazine, and empty the shells. Nothing.

“How did you plan on killing him when you've used up all the bullets?” Cosima asks. “At best, you’d just scare the hell out of him.” They laugh.

“I can’t believe it.” The scientist smiles, tears streaming down her eyes. “After all that has happened, we can finally chart our own future.” The doctor embraces her beloved tightly, silently acknowledging the sacrifices they had made to reach this point.

As they speak, PT reaches into his jacket and pulls out a revolver. With a clear line of sight, he aims the muzzle directly at the couple and cocks the gun.

“Drop it!” Sarah rushes forward, pointing her pistol at the founder’s head. She stands only a few feet away from her target, but not close enough to guarantee a clean shot.

Without taking a second to think, Delphine shoves Cosima onto the grass and covers the scientist, using her body as a shield.

“Ah, Sarah Manning,” PT says, refusing to lower the weapon. “Never expected you to survive as long as you have.”

“If you know who I am, you know I won’t hesitate to blow your brains out. Drop it now!” Sarah growls.

PT considers firing but finally relents, dropping the revolver with a flick of his wrist. “Very well. There will come a time when Dr. Cormier’s services will be required again.”

Sarah dashes over to PT’s side, forces him up, and points the pistol at his head. “Don’t you dare resist.” Turning to the couple, she calls out, “Charlotte and I will turn him in. Watch the stockpile.”

 _Yes, the stockpile!_ Cosima looks Delphine in the eye. “There’s one more thing. We need to get rid of this.”

Delphine hesitates. “Think of the possibilities.”

“I know. You worked so hard on this. It’s your greatest accomplishment. But we can’t risk this ending up with Neolution again. We have to do this.”

"This is different. We could use it to accomplish so much good in this world."

"But who gets to make that distinction?"

Delphine takes a deep breath and nods. “You’re right.” They turn their eyes to the burning manor, flames billowing out the windows.

The doctor snaps the suitcase shut but before she can leave, Cosima grabs her arm. “Let’s do this together.”

They walk hand in hand to the manor, standing just a few yards away from the flames. “Careful, this is highly flammable,” Delphine warns. She picks up a vial and throws it through the burning window, and Cosima does the same, destroying the last drops of Ambrosia one by one. Finally, the doctor pulls out the loaded syringe and tosses it into the flames.

“That’s the last one,” Delphine says, turning around and taking Cosima by the hand. “Run!”

They make one final bolt, fleeing as the ground trembles beneath their feet. In an instant, the manor ruptures in a ball of fire.

In one moment, everything around Cosima is suspended in slow motion: the intolerable heat of the flames, the force of the explosion sweeping them off their feet. In the next, she feels their bodies lurch forty feet through the air and loses her grasp with Delphine. The scientist lands flat on the earth, shattering her hip and tossing her body over a few times in the grass.

How did everything fall apart, ending right before it was all about to begin? The scientist fights to keep her eyes open, but the world fades to black as smoke envelopes their bodies. Then all she sees is darkness. The last sensation she experiences is a hand reaching over to hold hers reassuringly, refusing to let go, a heartbeat pulsating into hers.

“It will be all right,” A calming, familiar French accent washes over Cosima shortly before she passes out. “Don’t be afraid. I will never leave you.”

 

***

 

_Eight months later…_

Camp Revival remains nothing more than charred debris, a crime scene and testament of unauthorized experiments and unchecked science at its most depraved.

Those involved in Project Leda are subjected to dozens of police interviews. Few believe there can actually be a source of eternal life, as those who survived the Ambrosia display virtually no traces of it left in their systems. Rachel Duncan, the only known living human to have been injected with the Imperium, remains missing, and knowledge of her disappearance remains a source of worry for the Leda sisters.

For all the legend that surrounded Neolution's founder, PT was simply a mortal with grand ambitions. Several weeks ago, he was found dead in his prison cell, from old age or a broken heart, it is unknown. After an autopsy, it was discovered that he was not nearly as old as he claimed. One final act of deception was also exposed: his real name was not even PT Westmoreland.

The Leda sisters weren’t out of the woods yet. There would be more court visits, legal issues…But in the midst of all the media frenzy, Alison proposes a camping trip in the mountains, just the Clone Club and their closest friends, a time to take their minds off of all the insanity.

“Finally, a trip where someone isn’t actively trying to kill me,” Sarah notes matter-of-factly after setting up her tent.

“Oh, jolly up will you?” Felix says. “I brought my special dip and no one is allowed to leave without sampling it first.”

“Here’s to Felix!” Sarah raises a toast. “For without him, we’d all be dead.”

“You’re lovely, but you still need to try it.”

“I will, just give me a moment.” Sarah smiles, looking out at the surviving sisters. Helena and her newborns, with her and her boyfriend Jesse holding onto one each. A blindfolded Donnie griping helplessly as Alison and their children pelt him with water balloons. Kira and Charlotte giggling over s’mores.

Suddenly, a black car pulls up to the camp site, scattering a trail of dust in its wake. Scott exits the driver’s seat and walks over to the other side, revealing his passenger.

“Cos!” Sarah grins and runs over to her sister. “You made it!”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Cosima slowly stands up with the help of a cane. It was a miracle she managed to survive, and the Leda disease appears to be completely wiped from her system. However, the impact of the explosion took its toll, and it was uncertain how long her body would take to heal.

The rest of the Clone Club surround the scientist, embracing her with hugs and well wishes. But as happy as she was to see them again, her mind drifts to the absence of her beloved.

“Hello chicken,” Mrs. S gives Cosima a one-armed hug. “Good to have you with us.”

“Happy to be here. Thank you for letting Delphine stay at your place.”

“Anytime. It was fun having her over these past few days. Kira just adores her.”

Cosima furrows her eyebrows. “I was under the impression she landed just last night. She didn’t tell me she was already in the area.”

Mrs. S shrugs. “I don’t know, love. You’ll have to ask her yourself.” She points to the doctor, who is spotted slipping into Sarah’s tent, and the scientist moves towards her.

“Oi sis.” Sarah bounds over. “I wanted to ask, Delphine told me you were working on this new writing assignment.”

“Just a project I’ve been contemplating,” Cosima replies, still focused on her beloved. “We need an honest means to pay our legal bills and win our emancipation, after all.”

“So were you planning to tell us what exactly it is you're composing?”

 _If it gets you off my case…_ “I’m thinking of writing a book about us and the science behind cloning. The working title is _The Surviving Sisters of Leda_.”

“Not bad. We did survive, but let’s not forget those we lost. What about  _The Indomitable Sisters of Leda_?”

“I’ll consider it.”

Sarah pats her sister on the shoulder. “Make me look good, okay?” Before Sarah can utter another word, Alison asks to borrow her and Cosima readily obliges.

With her sisters distracted, Cosima opens the flap of Sarah’s tent and peers inside.

“You seem awfully mysterious,” the scientist teases, watching Delphine zip up Sarah’s backpack. “I hardly heard from you this past week. What’s going on, buddy?”

Delphine turns around, not expecting to find a visitor. The scar on her forehead had mostly healed, and unlike Cosima, she suffered only a few bruises from the explosion, the Ambrosia having fulfilled its properties. With the last of her strength, she had carried the scientist to safety as Sarah returned to rescue them both.

" _Bonjour mon amour._ ” Delphine forces a quick smile to mask her surprise. “I wanted to tell you this earlier, but I heard they found PT’s black book. There was a section you hadn’t captured, after the page where he designated you the Legacy Clone.”

“Yes, and?”

“There is another list of names of the Leda clones. The project may have been more extensive than we originally thought. You have more sisters, and who knows what they are going through…”

“Then we’ll just have to find them and administer the cure. I hope they survived.”

“I hope so too.”

“You know, I heard back from Mud recently,” Cosima says. “She’s back in Seattle with her parents.”

“That’s progress. Did they…”

“Her family was upset at her initially. But they still took her in and now they’re back on speaking terms.”

“That’s good to hear.” Delphine flashes a mischievous grin and changes the subject. “ _Chérie_ , do you trust me?”

“With all my heart. What? Don’t tell me you pocketed a vial of Ambrosia.”

Delphine laughs, shakes her head, and takes Cosima’s hands into hers. “Would you like to join me for a hike? I read about this incredible view, and it would mean a lot to share it with you.”

“It has to be right now?” Delphine nods. “Okay, let me get ready. Meet me in five minutes?”

“It’s a date. Our tent is the center one.”

Cosima steps outside, picks up her cane, and spots Sarah walking away from Alison. “No, no, no, I want no part in this.”

“Think about it. This could be our big break. There's this lady in my church who has a friend who knows a Hollywood agent, and this would make the perfect reality television show. We’ll call it… _Sister Clones_ ,” Alison says, waving one hand in the air for effect.

“I am not about to turn Kira into television star.”

“Oh come on. You can be Kim. I’ll be Khloe.”

“Now you’ve really lost me.”

Cosima trudges over to Sarah, who eagerly allows her to shift the conversation.

“What was she doing in your tent?”

“You mean Delphine? How should I know?”

“She’s been acting odd lately. She stayed at your place for the past few days and didn’t even care to tell me? It’s not to say she’s never been upfront, but…”

“Can you stop?”

“Stop what?”

“You’re too hard on your woman. I mean, I get it, she’s stubborn and can be a pain in the arse at times. But Delphine needed to be brave for you and she was. She made you promises and she’s kept them. I’ve seen what she’s sacrificed for you, for us. Her intentions have not been anything less than selfless. So you either trust her and her motivations or you move on.”

“Yes. Of course.” Cosima heads to the center tent to get ready, forgetting the incident that had troubled her in the first place.


	16. Mysterious Works of Chance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for following along this mini-novel of a story! This is the final chapter. As this is my first fanfic, any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. -CJR

_None of us get to decide on our creation. It has always been dictated by those who came before us._

 

Cosima holds onto Delphine’s arm as they make their trek towards the peak of the mountain. Sunlight seeps through the treetops, illuminating Delphine’s golden curls into an angelic crown.

“You seem happy, _mon amour_. What is it?” Delphine asks.

“Nothing, it’s...I’m just grateful that we’re finally in a good place, and we can make these choices together,” Cosima smiles. “Us against the world.”

Delphine shoots a devilish grin. “I’m glad you feel that way.”

Suddenly, Cosima flashes a look of concern. “I think we’re being followed.”

“What? No, who would want to follow us? We’re almost at the top. Come on!”

 

Finally, they reach the summit, which boasts a view more scenic than either of them could have imagined. They gaze into the breathtaking horizon, overlooking the snowy peaks that surround them.

“There are…no words,” Cosima breathes.

“You like it?” Delphine beams with pride. “I didn’t bring us here just to show you the view. I kind of lied. Could you stand up on your own for a minute?”

“Yeah. What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” The doctor’s heart races, and her breathing slows. “I just…need to gather all my thoughts together.”

“You don’t need to feel nervous around me,” Cosima replies supportively. “Okay, so why…” She freezes. From the corner of her eye she glimpses Delphine getting down on one knee. “Oh my goodness.”

“Cosima Niehaus,” the doctor says in a mixture of nerves and conviction. “ _Ma bien-aimée_. My English is not the most…refined, but I simply cannot not have you. I honestly cannot go on another day without making you mine. You embody beauty inside and out, with your integrity, humor, intellect, selflessness, and bravery.

"I promised to always protect you, promised to love all of your sisters, and now I promise to give all of me to you.” She pulls out a navy blue box from her pocket. "Will you..."

“Wait,” the scientist interrupts her. “Oh my God, I don’t even have time to prepare for this and process everything. I had wanted to discuss this with you first.” She weaves her fingers through Delphine’s hair and looks her in the eye.

The doctor bites her lower lip in disappointment but pulls it together. “Okay. I’m sorry if all of this is rushed…”

“How long ago was it when we first met at the university? It feels now like an eternity since that day, and you have been the biggest surprise of my life. I never envisioned this would be the route for us to get here, but we’ve both grown so much along the way. It hasn’t always been easy, in fact, there were challenges from the start…we went through so much tragedy and experienced so much joy.

“And all I really wanted to say is: Dr. Delphine Cormier, I loved you…from the very first day.”

Delphine stands up, cupping Cosima’s head in her hands. She pulls her beloved in for a kiss and when she finally releases her, they rest their foreheads together.

“I think you wanted to ask me something?” the scientist grins.

The doctor smiles and bends down on one knee for a second time. “Cosima, will you please please please marry me? Let’s make crazy science together.” She opens the box, revealing a diamond sparkler.

Cosima places her hands over her mouth, almost bowling over in sheer elation. She manages to kneel before Delphine, quaking as she holds her beloved’s head in her hands. “Yes, yes! A thousand times, I will.”

Delphine, unsure of herself just seconds earlier, breaks into another smile and pulls Cosima in for another kiss while wrapping her in an embrace.

“I love you,” the scientist says in between kisses. “I will marry you, but on one condition.”

The doctor pauses in anticipation. “Okay.”

“I’m doing the cooking.”

“Is that all? I’m fine with that.”

They hold each other and laugh, tears streaming from their eyes. Delphine slides the ring up Cosima's quaking finger to finalize the engagement.

“Cheers to the engaged couple!” Alison jumps up and down. “I’m so happy for you both!”

“Smile, it’s all on camera,” Sarah says, holding up her smartphone.

“Turn that off!” Cosima takes off her glasses, wipes her eyes, and limps over to Sarah. “You knew this was going to happen.”

“What are you talking about?” Sarah asks. 

“Sarah, please.”

“Maybe I had a slight idea. She had me dress up as you, nose ring, dreadlocks, and all, and try out dozens of engagement rings. And she was picky. But when I slipped that on, we both knew it was special.”

“Thank you. It’s so lovely.”

“Remind your fiancée she agreed to clean my flat as repayment.”

Cosima laughs. “Well, since you’re the one that got me into this, you’re going to be my Maid of Honor.”

“Oh yeah, who said I was going to do it?” The scientist socks her sister in the arm. “Okay, fine.” Sarah rolls her eyes. “Congratulations, love. We all gave her our blessing. You picked well.”

The Clone Club takes turns offering Delphine and Cosima their congratulations until finally the couple finds themselves in each other’s arms. As they descend from the summit, the scientist wraps an arm around the doctor and smiles.

“What is it, _mon amour_?”

“I’m so happy I get to marry all of this,” Cosima replies. “You know, as much as I wouldn’t wish what we experienced on anyone, I would go through it all over again if I had to. Because it brought me to you.”

“Please. I’m not even worth going through a parking ticket.”

“I mean it.”

Delphine leans over for another kiss. “I didn’t actually believe I could be loved this way before I met you.”

“I don’t believe you. I’ve always been the one receiving your love, but now it’s my turn to give it. I love you.”

“ _Je t'aime aussi._ I can’t wait to marry you.”

 

***

 

It was perhaps an hour or two past midnight when Delphine awakens in their tent, instinctively flexing her left arm and realizing Cosima was no longer resting underneath. She sits up in a panic, scanning the tent, and calls her beloved’s name. Nothing. She grabs a sweater and impulsively pulls it over her head, wraps herself in a jacket, and rushes outside.

“Cosima?”

Delphine takes a few steps forward before she sees her, resting peacefully on the grass beside the fireplace.

“Mind if I join you?”

Cosima turns her head in surprise. “Look,” she says, her chin gesturing to the skies above.

The doctor crouches beside her beloved and turns her focus upward, to the canvas of stars and trails of cosmic dust floating across the seemingly infinite expanse of the Milky Way.

“It’s…incredible.” Delphine nestles beside Cosima, holding the scientist’s body in her arms.

“I didn’t mean to worry you. I had trouble falling asleep,” Cosima explains. “I know you were just starting to get a good night’s rest, and I didn’t want to wake you.” She gazes into the universe and points out various planets and constellations as Delphine strokes her beloved’s head and nods, bleary-eyed.

“Is there something on your mind, _chérie_?”

Cosima hadn’t realized she appeared anxious, but there was no use pretending otherwise. “It’s just…when you proposed, it was by far the happiest moment of my life, perhaps the most happiness my body was capable of experiencing. Every part of me was overwhelmed with joy. But then, as we descended from the peak, those feelings started giving way to fear. I know you never intended for it to turn out this way…”

“It’s all right. You can tell me.”

Cosima rests her head on Delphine’s chest. “Perhaps it’s my nature as a scientist, but my mind remains cluttered with so many questions. And I used to be okay with that, the fact that there will always be unknowns. But back then I didn’t have to consider the possibility of starting a life with you. And now it frightens me knowing that at any time, we could end, this could all be over, and you and I would return to the particles we came from.

“Who knows who will assume the mantle of Neolution, or if their methods would be any more deadly? I want to believe we have left all of it behind, that there will be no more kidnappings and exploitation and assassinations, and we can live our lives in peace. But how can we really when we are forever linked and branded to this…murderous futurist cult?

“In the end, I can’t even blame Neolution for everything. The greed, the selfishness…it stems from human nature. We can’t stop it. And I can understand that from an evolutionary standpoint. The selfless ones are the first to go and those willing to sacrifice others for personal gain live on. Isn’t that how it goes?”

Cosima sighs. “It’s still daunting, thinking about everything that happened. PT destroyed so many lives in his deranged quest for eternal life. And knowing that I was created as a result of this pursuit…”

“Hey.” Delphine finally stops Cosima and rolls over to face her. “None of us get to decide on our creation. It has always been dictated by those who came before us. But you and I, we don’t have to play by the rules and judgments of other people. We can form something beautiful from all of this.” She places a hand on the scientist’s cheek and smiles.

Cosima brings herself closer to the doctor and turns to face the sky. “It’s difficult for me, looking out into the galaxy without realizing how small we are in the grand scheme of things…how improbable it was for each and every one of us to even be here. Like, of all the known planets in the universe, there is only one that had all the conditions ripe for life…and that we could conquer one in infinity odds for the right to exist on this earth. Yes, there is joy and beauty in that,” she sighs. “But I also want to know that this universe isn’t just some random, meaningless chaos.”

“Well, that’s deep,” Delphine notes and they laugh. “We all desire to make sense of it. That’s why humanity has always tried to create certainty from uncertainty, and why we attempt to cheat death. But sometimes I have to resign myself to the fact that I simply don’t have the answer.

“The greed, the selfishness you speak of, yes, that’s all real. But I also know that all we can do is live our best lives, no matter what happens or who tries to rip that away from us. Because all we have is right now. And right now, what we have right here, it’s not chaos. It’s meaningful and it’s real.”

“Our love is real,” Cosima grins. “There may not be a logical, scientific explanation for it, or for passion and freedom, but I am as sure of it as anything else in this universe.”

“There will be immense challenges. But I will be here for you. We can make it.”

“I won't always be that person you need me to be. But I can promise to love you and give you everything that I have. And that you will have me. Always.”

Delphine notices Cosima’s right hand reaching over to hers, and she smiles. The doctor laces their fingers together and kisses the scientist’s hand.

Cosima relaxes, immersed in the bond between two souls. Delphine was right. Whatever challenges lay ahead, all they had control over was right now. From this point onward, beneath the vastness of the universe, they would boldly take on their next chapter in a lifetime of crazy science.

 

_Thanks for reading! To find out what happens next, see[Beyond the Crazy Science](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11853423)._


End file.
